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CAMBRIDGE COUNTY GE0GI14FHIES 



OXFORDSHIRE 



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CAMBRIDGE COUNTY GEOGRAPHIES 

General Editor: F. H. H. Guillemard, M.A., M.D. 



OXFORDSHIRE 



CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS 

Hontion : fetter lane, e.g. 
C. F. CLAY, Manager 



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Cambridge County Geographies 



OXFORDSHIRE 



b, 

Pf^r'blTCHFIELD, M.A., F.S.A. 



With Maps, Diagrams and Illustrations 



Cambridge : 

at the University Press 

1912 






Catnbrttigc: 

PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. 
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 



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ERRATUM 

On p. 79 for right-hand read left-hand. 



Note. As this book was first published before the 
complete figures of the 191 1 census were available, 
the figures below are supplied to take the place of 
those given in the following pages. 



Oxfordshire 199,269 



Adderbury, East 858 

West 334 
Asthall 319 
Banipton 1240 
Banbury 13,458 
Beckley 248 
Benson 985 
Bicester 3385 
Bletchingdon 488 
Bloxham 1335 
Broughton 1 3 2 
Burford 1047 
Caversham 9858 
Chalgrove 364 
Charlbury 1307 
Chinnor 975 
Chipping Norton 3972 
Cogges 888 
Cowley 2510 
Cropredy 405 
Cuddesdon 274 
Deddington 1466 
Dorchester 804 
Enstone 932 
Ewelme 479 
Eye and Dunsden 11 73 
Eynsham 1683 
Fritwell 453 
Goring 1785 
Hanwell 194 
Haseley, Great 517 
Headington 4488 



Henley-on-Thames 6456 
Hook Norton 1349 
Iffley 357 
Islip 566 
Kelmscot 159 
Kidlington 1087 
Kirtlington 616 
Langley 45 
Littlemore 1909 
Mapledurham 547 
Minster Lovell 448 
Northleigh 650 
Oxford 53,048 
Rollright, Great 349 
Rotherfield Greys 606 

„ Peppard 606 

Shiplake 1236 

Shipton-under-Wychwood 654 
Somerton 274 
Stanton Harcourt 465 
Stanton St John 397 
Tew, Great 369 
Thame 2957 
Watlington 1548 
Wheatley 966 
Whitchurch 847 
Witney 3529 
Wolvercote 1297 
Woodstock 1594 
Wootton 610 
Wroxton 569 



PREFACE 

THIS book needs little preface. In accordance with 
the prescribed scheme of this series of County 
Geographies the author has tried to describe the physical 
features of Oxfordshire, its people, its industries, history, 
antiquities, architecture and famous men, and to recall the 
story of Oxford with its seven centuries of University 
life, the Saxon and Norman stronghold that played 
a great part in the Danish strife, and in the civil wars 
of the twelfth and seventeenth centuries. It has been 
a pleasant task to wander again through the old-world 
towns and villages of the county, and to attempt to lead 
others to admire its remarkable churches, its fine examples 
of domestic and collegiate architecture, and to interest 
them in its history. 

The author desires to express his thanks to all who 
have assisted him in the writing of this book, to 
Mr Llewelyn Treacher, F.G.S., whose aid has been 
most valuable in the geological and kindred sections, 
and especially to the General Editor, Dr Guillemard, 
for his editorial care. 

P. H. D. 

January^ 191 2. 



«3 



CONTENTS 



1. County and Shire. The Origin of Oxfordshire 

2. General Characteristics. Position and Natural Con 

ditions .... 

3. Size. Shape. Boundaries 

4. Surface and General Features 

5. Rivers ..... 

6. Geology and Soils . 

7. Natural History — Fauna and Flora 

8. Climate 

9. People — Race, Dialect, Settlements, Population 

10. Agriculture — Main Cultivations, Stock, Woodlands 

11. Industries and Manufactures . 

12. A Special Industry — Witney Blankets 

13. Quarries and Minerals . 

14. History of the County 

15. Antiquities — Prehistoric, Roman, Saxon 



19 

24 

35 
49 
58 
64 
67 
72 
81 
84 
86 
95 



viii CONTENTS 

PAGE 

1 6. Architecture — {a) Ecclesiastical , . . 102 

17. Architecture — (b) Military. Castles . . . 125 

18. Architecture — (c) Domestic. Famous Mansions, 

Manor Houses and Cottages . . . .136 

19. Architecture — (cf) Colleges 145 

20. Communications — Past and Present. Roads. Rail- 

ways. Canals . . . . . . .160 

21. Administration and Divisions — Ancient and Modern 168 

22. Roll of Honour . . . . . . -173 

23. The Chief Towns and Villages of Oxfordshire . 189 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Portion of Domesday Book relating to Oxfordshire 

Burford. {Phot. C. Hughes) 

Mapledurham Water Mill. {Phot. Frith) 

Woodstock. {Phot. Valentine) . . . . ' 

The Thames Valley near Goring-. {Phot. Frith) 

The Three Shire Stones. {Phot. Sansbury) 

Four Shire Stone. {Phot. Sansbury) ... 

Christ Church Meadow. {Phot. Frith) . 

College Barges and Eights, Oxford. {Phot. Frith) . 

Whitchurch. {Phot. Frith) 

Henley Bridge. {Phot. Frith) .... 

On the Cherwell. {Phot. Frith) . . . . , 

Fossils of the Kimmeridge Clay and Corallian. {Phot 
LI. Treacher) ....... 

Malmstone Quarry, near Watlington. {Phot. LI. Treacher) 

Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford. {Phot. Holliday) 

An Oxfordshire Farm. {Phot. Adams) . 

Oxford Down Ram. (From the Encyclopaedia Britannica) 

Worcester College Gardens. {Phot. Frith) 

Oxford University Press ...... 

Room in the Bodleian Library. {Phot. Frith) 
Wolvercote Paper Mills ...... 

Cake Shop, Banbury. {Phot. Sansbury) . 
Marsh Mills, on the Thames. {Phot. Frith) . 
Witney Blanket Factory. {Phot. Adams) 
Dorchester Church. {Phot. Latter) . . . 



PAGE 

5 

7 

9 

1 1 

13 
15 

I? 
23 
26 
27 
28 
3^ 

44 
46 

63 
66 

69 
71 
74 
75 
76 
78 

79 
82 

87 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Minster Lovell. {Phot. C. Hughes) 

The Reredos, All Souls' Chapel. {Phot. Frith) 

Balliol College and the Martyrs' Memorial. {Phot. Frith) 

Blenheim Palace. {Phot. Valentine) 

Palaeolithic and Neolithic Implements. {Phot. LI. Treacher) 

The Rollright Stone Circle. {Phot. Sansbury) 

Rollright Circle : the King's Stone. {Phot. Sansbury) 

St John's College. {Phot. Frith) . 

St Michael's Church, Oxford. {Phot. Frith) 

Iffley Church, West Front. {Phot. Frith) 

Christ Church Cathedral. {Phot. Frith) . 

St Mary's Church, Oxford. {Phot. Frith) 

Magdalen College. {Phot. Frith) . 

Burford Church. {Phot. C. Hughes) 

Godstow Nunnery. {Phot. Valentine) 

Tower of the Five Orders. {Phot. Frith) 

Christ Church: Staircase leading to the Hall. {Phot. Frith) 

Oxford Castle. {Phot. Frith) . 

Broughton Castle. {Phot. Sansbury) 

Banqueting Hall, Broughton Castle. {Phot. Sansbury) 

Great Tew Village. {Phot. Valentine) 

Bishop King's Palace, Oxford. {Phot. Frith) 

Wroxton Abbey. {Phot. Sansbury) 

The Octagon House, Oxford. {Phot. Frith) 

The Great Quadrangle, Christ Church. {Phot. Fritli) 

Oriel College. {Phot. Frith) . 

Merton College Library. {Phot. Frith) . 

Magdalen College Tower. {Phot. Frith) 

Queen's College. {Phot. Frith) 

The Twin Towers, All Souls'. {Phot. Frith) 

The Radcliffe Library. {Phot. Frith) 

New College. {Phot. Frith) . 

Mansfield College. {Phot. Frith) . 



PAGE 
89 
91 

92 

94 
97 
98 
100 
105 
107 
1 10 

113 
117 
119 
120 
121 
123 
124 
126 
133 
134 
137 
139 
141 

143 
147 
149 
150 
152 
1.53 
^S5 

157 
158 



ILLUSTRATIONS xi 



Somerville College. - {Phot. Fritli) .... 

The Saltway near Banbury. {Phot. Sansbury) 

Whitchurch Toll Gate. {Phot. Frith) . 

Canal at Oxford. {Phot. Frith) .... 

Mapledurham Lock. {Phot. Frith) .... 

Banbury Town Hall. {Phot. Valentine) . 

Manor House, Woodstock. {Phot. Valentine) 

Warren Hastings. {Phot. Emery Walker) 

William Lenthall. {Phot. Emery Walker) 

Wadham College. {Phot. Frith) .... 

Sir John Soane. {Phot. Emery Walker) . 

Globe Room, Reindeer Inn, Banbury. {Phot. Sansbury) 

Benson Weir. {Phot. Frith) 

Hampden's Obelisk, Chalgrove. {Phot. LI. Treacher) 

Dorchester, {Phot. Frith) 

Ewelme. {Phot. Sansbury) 

Goring-. {Phot. Frith) 

Church, and Red Lion Inn, Henley. {Phot. Frith) 

Iffley Church. {Phot. Frith) 

High Street, Oxford. {Phot. Frith) 

Pulpit in the Quadrangle, Magdalen College. {Phot. Frith) 

Interior: Christ Church Cathedral. {Phot. Frith) . 

Witney Butter Cross. {Phot. Adams) 

Diagrams ........ 



PAGE 

159 
161 
163 
166 
168 
171 

174 
181 

183 
185 
187 
190 
191 
194 
197 
198 
199 
201 
202 
205 
206 
208 
2 12 
215 



MAPS 

Oxfordshire, Physical Front Co'ver 

„ Geological Back Cover 

Rainfall Map of England and Wales .... 60 

The photographs on pp. 74 and 76 were kindly supplied by the 
Oxford University Press ; thanks are also due to the Radcliffe 
Observer for his assistance in procuring the photograph on p. 63. 



I. County and Shire. The Origin of 
Oxfordshire. 

If we look at a map of England we see the whole 
country parcelled out into shires and counties, each of 
which has its own story to tell of its origin and formation. 
A remarkable difference exists with regard to their origin, as 
great a difference, indeed, as in their size and characteristics. 
Several were old kingdoms long before one king ruled over 
a united English land. The southern counties are much 
older than those further north. The name Kent pre- 
serves the memory of an old British tribe, the Cantii, who 
held the south-eastern corner of our island long before 
Julius Caesar came to try to conquer Britain. Other 
counties record Saxon kingdoms, such as Sussex, the 
region of the South Saxons ; Essex, that of the Eastern 
Saxons; Middlesex that of the mid-Saxon kingdom ; while 
the Angles held East Anglia and divided themselves into 
the North Folk, or Norfolk, and the South Folk, or 
Suffolk. The West Saxons were a powerful people and 
held Berkshire, Wiltshire, and Gloucestershire, and part 
of Somerset — the later Wessex. Wessex had its own 
folk^moot and its independent king. These districts were 

D. o. I 



2 OXFORDSHIRE 

subsequently divided into the shires which we now see on 
the map. 

On the north of Wessex was the powerful kingdom 
of Mercia, which maintained its integrity until the tenth 
century. It had many warrior rulers who waged war 
on the adjoining kingdoms, fighting incessantly with the 
neighbouring people of Wessex. About the year 912 
the partition of this large stretch of country was made. 
It was separated into shires^ i.e. shares or divisions, parts 
sfwrn off — for the root- word is the same in each case — 
these new shires all bearing the name of the chief town 
around which they were grouped. Thus, Staffordshire, 
the shire of Stafford, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, 
Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, and 
others were founded, and among them our shire of Oxford 
sprang into being about the little town which was destined 
to become a great city, and on account of its university 
one of the most famous places in England. 

It was not then so important a town as it afterwards 
became, but its position on the great river near the chief 
ford would render it a place of consequence. Oxford 
used to be written Oxenford, and it may be that the 
name is derived from these beasts of burden, " the ford 
of the oxen," though some learned men tell us that the 
first syllable comes from the Celtic word Ouse, meaning 
a river, and that the name means the ford across the river. 
Earthworks, cromlechs, camps, and roads, tell of the 
earliest people who inhabited the district. On the west 
they formed their tribal boundary where the Edge Hills 
overlook the plains of leafy Warwickshire. On the 



COUNTY AND SHIRE 3 

south the Thames formed a means of defence, and 
opposite the Berkshire stronghold at Sinodun,near WalHng- 
ford, stands the camp called the Dyke Hills, protected by 
a double vallum and a trench. 

Long before the Romans came, a warlike Celtic tribe 
called the Dobuni dwelt in the district now called Oxford- 
shire. They were surrounded by other strong tribes, the 
Carnabii on the west, the Coritani on the north, the 
Atrebates on the south (whose chief city was Calleva 
Atribatum, afterwards the Roman Silchester), and the 
Catuvelauni on the east. There was much fighting 
between these tribes, and the Dobuni extended their 
sway to the Severn. Then they were harassed by their 
neighbours, the Catuvelauni, who inhabited the district 
now called Buckinghamshire and had at one time for 
their chief Cunobeline, of whom Shakespeare wrote, 
calling him Cymbeline. 

When Julius Caesar came to Britain he could not 
penetrate the forests of the future Oxfordshire, and it was 
left to another great Roman leader, Aulus Plautius, to 
subdue the Dobuni. We can find several traces of Roman 
rule in Oxfordshire, though they are not so numerous 
as in many other counties. The Romans remained in 
possession until about 410 a.d., when they withdrew to 
their native land, and Britain was left defenceless. Then 
came the Saxons and Angles, and this part of our land fell 
an easy prey to the West Saxons. At the beginning of 
the seventh century it was part of Wessex, the kingdom 
of the West Saxons. Then from the north-east came 
another powerful Saxon host, the Mercians, who contended 

I — 2 



4 OXFORDSHIRE 

with the West Saxons who had advanced from the south. 
Fiercely did the battles rage, first one side being victorious 
and then the other. Penda, King of Mercia, who ruled 
from 626 to 633, was a mighty warrior, and extended his 
rule over Oxfordshire, and by treaty with Cwichelm, 
King of Wessex, made the Thames the boundary-line 
between the kingdoms. But this arrangement did not 
last long. For two centuries the rival kingdoms con- 
tended, first one gaining an advance and then the other, 
until at last Egbert, King of Wessex, prevailed in 827 
and brought Mercia under his rule. It preserved, how- 
ever, its geographical boundaries and organisation, being 
ruled over by an Ealdorman, until at the beginning of 
the tenth century Mercia was divided, as already stated, 
into shires, each shire taking its name from its chief town. 

With the coming of the Normans the word county 
was introduced. They applied that word in order to 
identify the old English "shire" with their own comhatus^ 
the district of a comes or count. Thus Oxfordshire, "the 
shire of Oxford," became also known as the county of 
Oxford. A reference to the Domesday Survey shows 
that like many of the other southern shires it was divided 
among smaller landlords or into smaller estates than the 
great lordships of the midlands and the north. Hence 
the owners were not so powerful as the barons who led 
the revolts against the Norman and Plantagenet kings. 

It is curious to note that although England became 
one kingdom the shires or counties retained for centuries 
their own peculiarities and local customs. They had 
each their own manners and social traditions. Kent, 



|n jpM- tulUta tntfU mam' <|«i ^cna #:o^y'^t<H.i«w? 



Portion of Domesday Book relating to Oxfordshire 



6 OXFORDSHIRE 

for example, retained its custom of gavelkind, whereby 
the youngest son, and not the eldest as in other counties, 
was entitled to his sire's property. Certain peculiarities 
in the building of Wadham College show that it was 
erected by Somerset masons. Even in such things as 
shoeing horses each county had its own peculiar custom. 
Thus Charles II in his flight was once detected by his 
horse's shoes having been made in four different counties. 
Since the population of the country has become more 
migratory, and railways quickly convey us from one end 
of the kingdom to the other, and the universal application 
of economic laws to the whole realm has come into force, 
these peculiarities of shires have for the most part dis- 
appeared. 



2. General Characteristics. Position 
and Natural Conditions. 

If we divide England into two fairly equal parts by 
a line running from east to west, Oxfordshire lies in 
the centre of the southern half. There is no coal 
in Oxfordshire and few openings for modern industrial 
activity. It is essentially an agricultural county. Camden 
well described Oxfordshire as "a fertile country and 
plentiful, the plains garnished with cornfields and 
meadows and the hills beset with woods." 

In former days Oxfordshire was noted for its wool trade, 
and other enterprises which depended on the water-power 
of its rivers and streams. These rivers form a distinguishing 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 7 

feature of the county. If we take a map of the county 
and colour all the rivers blue, we see that it is one of the 
best watered shires in England, showing, indeed, a perfect 
network of watercourses. This was observed by Dr Plot, 
who produced in 1677 his Natural History of Oxfordshire. 
He wrote " that Oxfordshire is the best water'd county 









Burford 



in England, though I dare not with too much confidence 
assert, yet am induced to believe there are few better." 
He might have stated^ the fact with certainty, if he had 
known the county better, and we shall presently consider 
the great river and its tributaries, and perhaps enumerate 
some of the " three score and ten at least of an inferior 
rank, besides smaller brooks not worth mention." 



8 OXFORDSHIRE 

These rivers had a great advantage for the trade of 
the shire in olden days, as they produced a large amount 
of water-power upon which the primitive wool trade and 
cloth-making largely depended. Five Oxfordshire market 
towns are all on rivers. These are Burford, Chipping 
Norton, Henley, Thame, and Witney, and as we have 
said, Oxford owes much to its position near the head- 
waters of the navigation of the Thames. But the days 
of water-power and waterways are past and gone. Steam 
engines have long since supplanted the old water-wheels, 
and in these days of railways we no longer depend on 
barges and rivers for the conveyance of our goods. 

The river Thames greatly promoted the trade of the 
county in former days. It was the principal means of 
transit of goods and the great highway of traffic. As 
early as 1205 King John gave licence to William 
FitzAndrew to have one vessel to ply on the Thames 
between Oxford and London. Stone for the building of 
Eton College was conveyed from the Headington quarries, 
and before the advent of railways this important river was 
the great highway, and brought trade and prosperity to the 
counties along its banks. In ancient times it brought 
also sundry dangers and disadvantages, and troublesome 
visitors. The Danes sailed up the Thames and burned 
and pillaged and slaughtered along its banks. In 871 
they came as far as Reading in Berkshire. Later they 
settled at Oxford. In the latter part of the tenth century 
they roamed about the country plundering and destroying. 
In 1006 they sacked and burnt Oxford, and in the next 
year marched again through Oxfordshire, but at length 




3 
at 



10 OXFORDSHIRE 

under the rule of Canute in 1018 a council was held at 
Oxford when both Danes and Angles agreed to observe 
the laws of Edgar, and live in peace. In those days of 
rapine and slaughter the great river would not have been 
considered an advantage to Oxford. The bed of the 
Thames contains stores of weapons which conquerors 
and conquered have dropped from their warships and 
canoes, and when the river is dredged we often find stone 
implements, bronze weapons, swords, and daggers. 

Another great natural feature of the shire was the 
abundance of wood and forest land. It must be 
remembered that, in its earliest days, England was very 
largely uncleared scrub or woodland, and in parts true 
forest land in the modern restricted sense of the term, 
i.e. covered with large trees. At one time Oxfordshire 
was almost covered with forests : it was practically a con- 
tinuous woodland. The royal chase of Woodstock lay on 
the north, and contiguous was the forest of Wychwood 
(perhaps "the wood of the Hwicci "). Near Bicester 
was the forest of Bernwood. Stowood, Beckley, and 
Shotover lay on the east. The Chilterns on the south- 
east were covered with wild thickets and dense beech- 
woods, and Bagley Wood extended on the south-west. 
These forests, full of deer, attracted the attention of 
Norman kings, and became the favourite royal hunting 
grounds. In the fourteenth century the Chiltern Woods 
became the haunt of thieves and robbers, and a Steward 
was appointed to exterminate these pests and to guard 
travellers and protect the inhabitants from pillage and 
murder. Though the robbers have long since vanished. 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 



11 



the Stewardship remains. Its salary is ^^i per annum, 
and when a Member of Parliament wishes to resign his 
seat, he accepts the office of the Stewardship of the 
Chiltern Hundreds. During the great Civil War of the 
seventeenth century, there was a terrible destruction of 
timber. Camden tells how the rich and fertile county 




Woodstock 



with hills covered with great store of woods, had been 
shorn of its beauty, and Dr Plot says, " The hills before 
the late unhappy wars were well enough beset with 
woods, where now 'tis so scarcy that 'tis a common 
thing to see it sold by weight." 

Another cause of the destruction of Oxfordshire woods 



12 OXFORDSHIRE 

was the high price of corn during the French wars at the 
close of the eighteenth century, when hundreds of acres 
of woodland were grubbed up in order to produce wheat, 
which was sold at an enormous price. The farmers and 
squires had great difficulty in making the land fit for 
cultivation, and owing to the destruction of the trees the 
price of wood was nearly doubled. 

We may conclude that the general characteristics of 
the county are agricultural ; that its natural conditions are 
abundance of water and (until recently) of forests ; that 
the great number of streams producing water-power 
provided, in old days, means for cloth-working ; that the 
woods provided a great trade in timber ; and that the 
Thames was the principal means of traffic connecting 
Oxford with Windsor and London, and thus bringing 
trade and commerce to the Oxfordshire city. 



3. Size. Shape. Boundaries. 

Oxfordshire cannot boast of its size. Thirty other 
English counties have a larger area. Compared with 
Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Devon, or Norfolk, it seems 
a small county, but it contains 483,626 acres or 751 
square miles. It has a curiously irregular shape. Its 
greatest length — measured from the most northern point, 
the Three Shire Stones, a mile north of Claydon to 
Caversham near Reading — is exactly 50 miles. Its 
greatest breadth is about 33 miles, measured from the 
Thames near Kelmscott to the Great Ouse near Finmere. 



14 OXFORDSHIRE 

But near Oxford we can walk across the county in an 
hour and a half, as the distance is under seven miles, and 
though the width of the county increases a little as we 
proceed south, it never exceeds a dozen miles. 

Fanciful geographers have compared the shape of the 
county to that of a lute. There are, however, some 
reasons for this eccentric shape. Its boundaries follow 
certain natural features which doubtless appeared good 
frontier lines and convenient demarcations to those who 
first rnapped out Oxfordshire. Thus the great river 
Thames with its winding course made an admirable 
boundary on the south, separating it from Berkshire. 
The Chiltern Hills with their crowns of beeches form 
a good limit on the south-east, and on the north and 
north-west the grand range of the Edge Hills provides a 
frontier line separating the county from Warwickshire. 
No one can now tell the origin of the boundary-lines 
separating from Northamptonshire on the north, from parts 
of Buckinghamshire on the east, and from Gloucestershire 
and a small detached part of Worcestershire on the west 
and north-west. Probably these lines followed old tribal 
divisions. 

The counties that surround Oxfordshire are Berkshire 
on the south, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire 
on the east, Warwickshire on the north and west, and 
a detached portion of Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire 
on the west. 

We will trace the boundaries of the county, beginning 
our peregrinations with the Three Shire Stones on the 
extreme north. Thence the line dividing it from Northants 



SIZE SHAPE BOUNDARIES 



15 



proceeds in a south-easterly direction, the ground gradually 
rising from 365 feet above the sea-level to 455 feet, past 
Wardington to Chalcombe (Northants.), then turning 
sharply to the w^est to the Cherwell river, and then south, 
pursuing an irregular course following the boundary of 
the borough of Banbury. The line then follows the 







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The Three Shire Stones 

{Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire) 

course of the Cherwell as far as Clifton. It then turns 
east by Aynho (Northants.), past Souldern to the Ouse, 
where it leaves Northamptonshire, and the Ouse separates 
the county from Buckinghamshire until Water Stratford 
is reached. 

The boundary-line then turns south, following the 



16 OXFORDSHIRE 

course of the Roman road which leads to Bicester. Skirting 
the grounds of Finmere, and leaving the Roman road 
at Finmere station, it pursues an irregular southern 
direction with several minor twists and turns past 
Godington. It cuts across the London and North- 
western Railway line, crosses the Ray stream and the 
Roman Akeman Street, goes by Piddington to near Brill 
(Bucks.), and then turns west passing the camp on 
Muswell Hill. It then makes for Murcot and turns 
south, past Studley Priory and its woods, through a 
well-timbered country, Shabbington wood being on the 
Buckinghamshire and Waterperry wood on the Oxford- 
shire side. The line then bears east and south towards the 
Thame river which it follows east to Thame. A tributary 
of the Thame, the Ford Brook, now forms the boundary 
until we reach the manor house of Aston Sandford, and 
then the line skirts the double peninsulas of Kingsey and 
Towersey. Turning south again, it crosses the Icknield 
Way, and, a little farther, reaches the foot of the Chilterns 
near Bledlow Cross. Here it mounts to the ridge, and 
following a very irregular and zigzag course, descends on 
the farther side to Stonor Park, and passing Henley Park 
eventually reaches the Thames by Fawley Court. 

The southern boundary of the county follows the 
course of the Thames river, and will be traced in the 
section which describes the rivers of the shire. 

The western boundary leaves the Thames at Kelm- 
scott (the abode of St Kenelm) and divides Oxfordshire 
from Gloucestershire. It proceeds in a north-westerly 
direction, keeping east of Lechlade, and for a short 



SIZE SHAPE BOUNDARIES 



17 



distance follows the course of the river Leach, branch- 
ing off soon after it passes Little Faringdon towards 




Four Shire Stone 



Broughton Poggs. It crosses Akeman Street, and the 
road from Burford to Cirencester by Fourmile House 
afterwards forms the boundary-line for a short distance. 



D. o. 



18 OXFORDSHIRE 

Crossing the Windrush a little to the east of Great and 
Little Barrington, it rises to a height of 607 feet by 
Downs Barn, and goes past Idbury Camp to Bledington 
(Gloucestershire) afterwards following the Evenlode for 
a short distance. The boundary then passes by Chastleton 
Camp and House, separating Oxfordshire from a detached 
portion of Worcestershire. A peninsula juts out here, 
towards Moreton-on-the-Marsh, extending to the Four 
Shire Stone. The ground rises near Chastleton to a 
height of 749 feet, and the line proceeds in a north- 
easterly direction to the Rollright villages and Hook 
Norton. The level now descends to 371 feet, then rises 
to the escarpment of the Edge Hills, the boundary just 
avoiding the beautiful house of Compton Wynyates in 
Warwickshire, from which county Oxfordshire is here 
separated. The line then pursues a zigzag course, turning 
south-east near Hornton, and a tongue of Warwickshire 
juts into Oxfordshire by Shotteswell. It then resumes 
its irregular northerly course to the Three Shire Stones, 
where we began our peregrinations. 

In old maps of counties we often find detached 
portions of the shires entirely surrounded by another 
county. These have often much historical importance, 
such as the Hundred of West Meon, situated in Sussex, 
but belonging to Hants. This is a striking survival from 
the settlement of Jutish Meonwara (i.e. the men of 
Meon), who were absorbed by the West Saxons of 
Hants. Oxfordshire is no exception to this. In ancient 
maps Lillingstone Lovell, Boycott, and Leckhampstead, 
all in Buckinghamshire and entirely surrounded by that 



SIZE SHAPE BOUNDARIES 19 

county, are recorded as being parts of Oxfordshire ; just 
as a little bit of detached Gloucestershire, including 
the parish of Shenington, joins the county on the 
Warwickshire border. It is an interesting problem to 
ascertain how these bits of counties became detached. 
In some cases, no doubt, the separation took place in 
early times by conquest or agreement ; but in most 
instances the detached portion belonged to some great 
landowner, whether a private individual or — as was not 
uncommon — an ecclesiastical body, whose chief estates 
were in that county, and therefore for manorial rights and 
assessment was permitted to consider the outlying property 
as part of the shire. The name Lillingstone Lovell points 
to this interpretation. The Lovells were a great Oxford- 
shire family. They gave their name to Minster Lovell 
in Oxfordshire, and Lillingstone Lovell was also their 
property, and so counted as part of Oxfordshire. 

These detached portions of counties are now only 
a matter of historic interest. By an Act of Parliament 
passed in 1844, all such parts were annexed to the 
county by which they were surrounded, and these bits 
of Oxfordshire have long since been amalgamated with 
Buckinghamshire. 



4. Surface and General Features. 

The surface of our shire is pleasantly diversified. 
Nothing could be further from monotony. Within its 
limits we find rolling plains, often wolds or almost moors, 
swift shallow streams, bare upland, and wooded valleys. 

2 — 2 



20 OXFORDSHIRE 

On the south-east are the glorious Chilterns, rising to 
a height of over 8oo feet, clothed and crowned with 
beechwoods. Shirburn Hill stands above the rest with 
a height of 827 feet, but Nettlebed (700 feet) with its 
woods and commons is the pride of the range. Camden, 
who wrote at the end of the sixteenth century, speaks of 
"the hills beset with woods; stored in every place, not only 
with corn and fruit, but also with all kinds of game for 
hound and hawk, and well watered with rivers plentiful." 
A delightful description truly ! But time has wrought 
some changes. Many woods have disappeared, and hawks 
are no longer generally used for killing game, except for 
amusement by a few enthusiastic followers of the sport, 
though hounds still pursue the fox and the hare. The 
scenery, however, is much the same as when the old 
geographer visited the county, and the rivers pursue their 
course to the sea and still abound with fish. 

Oxfordshire scenery varies much in different parts. 
We have rich meadows and overhanging woods by the 
sides of the rivers, as well as bleak and bare uplands with 
their stone walls and shelterless downs. The slopes of 
the Chilterns are still clad with beechwoods, and in the 
north we find enormous fields without a tree to cast 
a shadow. But there is also in the north some beautiful 
scenery, the country being diversified by lovely wooded 
valleys. In the southern part of the county, in the region 
of the Chilterns, the lover of nature finds at every season 
of the year much that pleases him. In the spring, the 
young green of the cornfields competes with the tender 
leaf of the stately beech-trees with which many of the 



SURFACE AND GENERAL FEATURES 21 

slopes are covered. In summer we pass from great 
stretches of golden grain to the leafy shades of the woods, 
where the sun's rays flicker on the smooth straight trunks 
of the beeches and the soft brown bed of leaves beneath ; 
while in autumn the wooded hills are a mass of colour, 
the bright scarlet of the wild cherry and maple, the green 
and yellow of the oak, and the rich old gold of the beech, 
lit up by the clear bright sunshine, blend into as brilliant 
and harmonious a picture as we can find in any part of 
England. Nor, in its way, is winter a less beautiful 
season of the year, when the pasture-covered hills, dotted 
with dark juniper shrubs and darker box and yew trees, 
alternate with the brown arable land, which fully displays 
the soft and graceful curves caused by the action of the 
weather for centuries on the chalk formation of the soil. 
The beechwoods have changed their green coverings for 
the rich purple of next year's buds, and each tree stands 
clear against the sky, its delicate tracery suggesting the 
lace-work which the deft fingers of the country-women 
contrive to weave so skilfully. 

The multitude of rivers, of which we shall presently 
have to speak, constitute a marked feature of the county. 
The extent of the woods and forests was another note- 
worthy characteristic, but the area covered by timber has 
been greatly reduced. The bogs and wastes of Otmoor 
— the home of the wild fowl, until drained, reclaimed, and 
enclosed at the beginning of the last century-^still con- 
stitute a peculiar feature of the county. The land is still 
swampy and flat, being situated on a broad belt of clay, 
and the Ray stream only partially drains it and conveys 



22 OXFORDSHIRE 

its waters into the Cherwell river. We can get a fine 
view over this somewhat desolate region from Arncott's 
wood at Beckley. 

Small valleys are numerous in the northern plateau 
with streams flowing through each, the slopes covered 
with pasture. There are few woods. Westward of this 
there is a region of long gently-rising slopes swelling to 
rounded hills, the outlying spurs of the Cotswolds. Stone 
walls often take the place of hedges, and the country is 
cold and bleak save when the summer sun shines and 
it becomes very hot and dry. Proceeding southwards 
towards Burford there is a hilly district, bleak and 
monotonous, with few trees or hedges, the latter being 
replaced by stone walls. The grand old forest of Wych- 
wood no longer provides a hunting ground for the kings 
of England, and little of its woodland remains except 
around Leafield and Cornbury. Between Burford and 
Witney the country is hilly with small valleys running 
down to the Thames. The banks of the upper Thames 
are very beautiful, with low-lying meadows, tall hedges, 
and few trees. If we follow the course of the river 
to Oxford we may notice there the famous Port Meadow 
and Christ Church meadow, the reed-girt Cherwell and 
the rising slopes of Headington (322 feet) and Shotover 
(562 feet). 

A survey of the county discloses a large number of 
parks, of which there are no, less than forty. These with 
their magnificent timber and their ornamental lakes con- 
stitute an important feature of Oxfordshire. 

The ground varies very much in elevation. The 



SURFACE AND GENERAL FEATURES 23 

surface of the Thames at Henley is only io8 feet above 
sea-level. At Oxford it is 187 feet. The Cherwell is 
302 feet above the sea at Banbury. Tadmarton Heath 
in the north is 653 feet, Pitch Hill 705 feet, and the 
summits of the Edge Hills vary from 600 to 700 feet m 
height. On the other side of the county there is Britw^ell 




Christ Church Meadow 



near Watlington with a height of 753 feet, Nuffield 
Common 673 feet, and Nettlebed and Shirburn w^hich 
have already been mentioned. There are-, therefore, 
considerable variations in the surface of the shire, and 
the lovers of picturesque scenery can find many beautiful 
districts w^ithin'its boundaries. 



24 OXFORDSHIRE 



5. Rivers. 

The rivers, as already stated, form a distinguishing 
natural feature of the county. They are so numerous 
and are fed by so many streams and brooks that almost 
the whole of the shire is covered with a network of 
water-courses, with the exception of the two plateaus 
at the extreme north and south of the county. What 
Dr Plot said with hesitation concerning our Oxfordshire 
streams we may assert with confidence. No county 
surpasses Oxfordshire in regard to the number and 
abundance of its rivers. The great river Thames flows 
along its whole southern boundary, and it has besides 
the Cherwell, Evenlode, Windrush, and Thame. All 
these flow into the Thames and have also their own 
tributaries. Thus, among many others, the Glyme and 
the Dome add to the waters of the Evenlode, and the 
Ray to the Cherwell. 

Dr Plot tells us that these rivers are " of so quick 
a stream, free from stagnation, and so clear... that few 
(if any) vappid and stinking exhalations can ascend from 
them to corrupt the air. And so for standing Pools, 
Marish or Boggy grounds, the parents of Ague, Cough, 
Catarrh, they are fewest here of any place to be found." 
Perhaps in this the learned doctor erred, or perhaps rivers 
like human beings sometimes change their nature. The 
Thames is swift enough, especially in times of flood, and 
was far more swift in Dr Plot's day, before it was bridled 



RIVERS 25 

with locks ; but the Thame, Evenlode, and Cherwell are 
somewhat sluggish streams and have many weeds, which 
are not seen in swift currents. 

The conditions have changed since very early times. 
The bed of the Thames was once far less deep than it is 
at present, and the river extended itself on each side. 
Moreover the hills and vales were covered with dense 
forests, and these would tend to increase the rainfall and 
to make the atmosphere humid. The Thames is navigable 
for large barges and small steamers as far as Oxford, but it 
does not, of course, become a tidal river until long after it 
has passed the boundaries of the shire. It is also navigable 
from Oxford to Lechlade for boats and barges. 

The Thames rises near Cirencester and runs southward 
into Wiltshire, and after receiving- the Churn from the 
north of Cirencester and proceeding easterly by Cricklade, 
it unites near Lechlade with the Coin from the north and 
the Cole from the south, and becomes navigable. The 
Leach, from which Lechlade takes its name, also adds 
its waters to the river, and forms for some distance the 
boundary of the county. From this point the Thames 
forms the southern limit of Oxfordshire, and thence flows 
eastward, inclining to the north through an uninteresting 
country. It passes under Radcot Bridge, where a battle was 
fought in 1387 between Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, 
and the insurgent Barons, when the Earl only saved his 
life by plunging into the river ; under Tadpole 'Bridge and 
New Bridge, where in the Civil War a fight took place. 
Here the Windrush joins the Thames. At Bablock 
Hythe there is a ferry, and there are many locks during 



26 OXFORDSHIRE 

this course of the river. Rounding the woods of Wytham 
it receives the waters of the Evenlode, but before reaching 
Oxford it di^'ides itself into various small channels as it 
traverses the meadows of Wytham, leaving Oxford on 
the left. These streams, however, soon unite, and the 
river turns round the city and glides beautifully through 




College Barges and Eights Oxford 

the meads of Christ Church. The Cherwell joins the 
Thames where the College barges are moored. Pro- 
ceeding still south-eastward past the old mill at Sandford, 
the Norman church of Iffley, Radley, and the lovely 
woods of Nuneham, it flows in a westerly bend to 
Abingdon (Berks.) where it receives the Ock. Turning 



RIVERS 27 

south and then east, past Culham and Clifton Hampden, 
it reaches Dorchester by a semicircular course, where it 
is joined by the Thame, and then runs south-eastward to 
Wallingford (Berks.). Past North Stoke and South Stoke 
it glides, and then reaches its most lovely scenery. All 




Whitchurch 



the way from Goring to Henley, save for a small un- 
interesting reach at Reading, it is girt by beautiful woods 
on one side and not less beautiful meadows on the other. 
Whitchurch, Mapledurham, and Purley are all beautiful. 
Eyots or Eyes (e.g. Sonning Eye) clad with willows, add 



28 



OXFORDSHIRE 



diversity and beauty to the scene, and by their name 
preserve the old Saxon vi^ord for island. Near Reading 
the Thames receives the w^aters of the Kennet and turns 
in a north-easterly direction towards Sonning and Shiplake, 
welcoming on its way the Loddon river, both these streams 
coming in from the south. Soon it reaches Henley, and 




Henley Bridge 

opposite Remenham leaves the county, proceeding towards 
Windsor, London, and the sea. The length of the course 
of the river from the point where it first touches Oxford- 
shire to Henley, where it quits the county, is about 
70 miles. With its tributaries it drains about 5000 square 
miles of country. 

The tributaries of the Thames that run through the 



RIVERS 29 

county have cut their way through the limestone hills 
and made narrow valleys. 

The Windrush rises in Gloucestershire, and entering 
Oxfordshire not far from the ancient town of Burford, 
in the delightful region of the Cotswolds, flows through 
the county a distance of about i6 miles. It is a land of 
breezy downs and bare hill slopes with old grey farm 
buildings dotted here and there over the fields. The 
Windrush runs clear and swift between pleasant meadows 
that go sharply up to the north, where stand the last trees 
of the old forest of Wychwood. It is unlike the rest of the 
Oxfordshire rivers with their muddy banks and sluggish 
currents. Before reaching Burford we see on the right 
the picturesque garden and farmhouse at Upton. Upton 
mills, once turned by the river, belonged to the Earl of 
Warwick, the King-maker. On the left is Taynton 
with its interesting Decorated church, which has a good 
Early English chancel. Taynton was the home of the 
Harmans, who afterwards removed to Burford Priory 
when it was dissolved. Burford town (the Borough-ford), 
with all its charms of history and romance, we shall visit 
again, and the Windrush pursues its course till it comes 
to another ford, called Widford (doubtless Wide-ford), 
a desolate place, an extinct parish with a deserted church 
dedicated to St Oswald, surrounded by an overgrown 
melancholy churchyard on the green banks of the stream. 
In vain its sweet bell in the bell-niche bears the ijiscription : 

" Come ye all 
At my call 
Serve God all." 



30 OXFORDSHIRE 

Half a century has passed since a few village folk obeyed 
that call, and the deserted shrine is fast falling into ruin. 
On its site once stood a Roman villa. A little farther 
down the stream we come to a river-side inn, near a bridge 
that spans the Windrush at Swinbrook, where formerly 
stood the splendid mansion of the powerful Fettiplace 
family, but both house and race have vanished. Of this 
family the old rhyme says : — 

"The Tracys, the Lacys, and the Fettiplaces 
Own all the manors, the parks, and the chases." 

But now nothing remains but their monuments and brasses 
in the church. A little farther down the stream on the 
right bank is Asthall, where there is another bridge. Close 
by, the Akeman Street crossed the river by a ford. About 
a mile south is Asthall barrow, a relic of prehistoric times. 
The Windrush proceeds eastward, and passing the lonely 
Minster Lovell, which we shall visit again, soon reaches 
Witney. 

The waters of the Windrush have certain peculiar 
properties which favour clothmaking. Dr Plot describes 
them as " abstersive," whatever that may mean. They 
are found, however, to be useful in blanket-making, and 
have brought prosperity to the little town of Witney. 
Fish, too, thrive on the "abstersive" quality of the 
Windrush waters and are vastly superior, we are told, to 
those in most other streams. From Witney the river 
turns south, passing through a tract of flat narrow land 
intersected by water-courses, known as " Ducklington 
Ditches," one of which is called Emm's Ditch, marking 



RIVERS 31 

the boundary of Queen Emma's manor, the queen of 
King Ethelred and Canute. The village of Ducklington 
stands close to the river, with its fine church showing 
mainly Early English work, with examples of Norman, 
Decorated, and Perpendicular styles. Past the woods of 
Cokethorpe Park the Windrush flows, and then wends 
its zigzag course to Standlake and its British village, soon 
finding its way to the " stripling Thames " at Newbridge, 
which is nowadays not new at all, but has stood for 
centuries grim and grey with its curious triangular 
buttresses. On it a skirmish was fought on May 27, 
1644, the day after Essex had occupied Abingdon. 
Between Witney and Standlake the Windrush flows as 
a double stream, the branches being from a quarter to 
half a mile apart. 

The Evenlode rises in Gloucestershire and runs during 
part of its course almost parallel with the Windrush, 
entering the county at Bledington. Several tributaries 
unite their waters with the river, which flows past 
Chipping Norton junction — now called Kingham — in a 
south-easterly direction to Shipton-under-Wychwood with 
its graceful spire, and then turns north-east to Ascott- 
under-Wychwood past the old gabled Elizabethan manor 
house of the Lacys, called Pudlicote, curving round to 
Charlbury, a quiet little village on its banks. It bounds 
the old park of Cornbury, which has been a park since 
the year 131 2-3, and the slopes of the valley are beautifully 
wooded. Hitherto the valley through which the river 
runs has been wide and open but it now becomes 
narrower, and the river continues in a south-easterly 



RIVERS 33 

direction till the woods of Wilcote run down to its edge. 
Its course becomes tortuous and soon the Blenheim woods 
appear on the left, with the tributary stream the Glyme, 
which rises near Chipping Norton and flows past Kid- 
dington and Glympton and through the ornamental 
waters of Blenheim Park. The Evenlode then flows 
almost due south, joining the Thames opposite the 
woods of Wytham. 

The Cherwell is the most important of the Oxford- 
shire rivers after the Thames, and has a course of 
thirty miles in the county. It rises in Northamptonshire, 
and on entering Oxfordshire near Wardington in the 
north of the county receives many tributary brooks and 
streams, flowing almost due south save for a slight curve 
after passing Hampton Gay. Its vale is wide and open 
during the upper part of its course, until it reaches 
Banbury, where it scoops out for itself a narrow valley 
similar to many other Oxfordshire rivers, forming very 
pleasant and attractive features of the scenery of the 
shire. For some distance it forms the boundary of 
the county until it passes near Clifton, having received 
the waters of the Sorbrook and Swere tributaries. The 
Swale, a small river from which Swalcliffe takes its name, 
is a tributary of the Sorbrook. Passing the well-wooded 
park of North Aston, the Cherwell creates for itself one 
of its fairest reaches until Heyford bridge appears. The 
old name of the village was Heyford-ad-PontQm, a very 
early bridge having been built here by Robert D'Oilly, 
lord of Wallingford in the Conqueror's time. Its name 
signifies the presence of a ford that preceded the bridge. 

D. o. 3 



34 OXFORDSHIRE 

Other bridges span the stream at Northbrook and Enslow, 
and the Akeman Street crosses the river between them 
where there was once a ford. The river now passes by 
a scene of desolation, the decayed hamlet of Hampton 
Gay. The village has only three houses, and it is a 
melancholy sight to gaze upon the ruins of the manor 
house recently destroyed by fire, and on the burnt paper- 
mills. The banks are very steep here, and opposite stands 
the picturesque church of Shipton-on-Cherwell. When 
we have passed the lofty spire of Kidlington, we see the 
Ray river, which, after passing through Bicester and 
Otmoor, here comes in on the left bank. The Cherwell 
now flows on past the beautiful manor house of Water 
Eaton, past the magnificent pile of Magdalen College, 
and pours into the Thames just below the College barges. 
Its beautiful lower reach, bedecked with lilies and lovely 
water plants, is much frequented in summer by such 
undergraduates as prefer dreaming in a punt to the more 
strenuous work of the Eights. 

The last Thames tributary that runs through the 
county is the Thame, which rises in Buckinghamshire 
and flows through the town that takes its name from the 
river. It is not a very interesting stream, pursuing its 
uneventful course for the most part through flat meadow- 
land. A bridge spans it at Chiselhampton, long and 
narrow, with bold projecting cut-waters, carrying the 
road over two branches of the stream and low-lying 
meadows. Here, on the morning of the battle of Chalgrove 
Field, a skirmish took place between the royal forces 
under Prince Rupert and the army of the Parliamentarians 



RIVERS 35 

led by John Hampden, who for some time kept the Prince 
at bay. On the other side of the river is Stadhampton, 
where John Owen, Cromwell's chaplain, was born. Past 
Newington and Drayton the Thame flows, and just 
below Dorchester reaches the place 

Where beauteous Isis and her husband Thame 
With mingled waves for ever flow the same." 

South of this there are no streams of any importance, 
the Chiltern district being badly supplied with water except 
near the Thames. 

The Stour rises in the county near Tadmarton heath 
and Hook Norton and flows westward through Swalcliffe 
common, soon leaving the county. On the east side of 
the county the river Ouse touches it, forming for some 
distance the boundary of the shire. 



6. Geology and Soils. 

Geology deals with the rocks which form the outer 
part or crust of the earth, their structure, contents, and 
relative positions. It further investigates their mode of 
formation and the laws which regulate their arrangement, 
and describes the influence they have on the scenery, the 
agriculture, and the mineral wealth of the country. 

Rocks are usually grouped in two classes, the Igneous 
and the Aqueous. These, as their names imply, owe 
their condition, the former to the action of fire, or more 
correctly the internal heat of the earth, and the latter to 
the action of water. As the Igneous rocks do not occur 

3—2 



36 OXFORDSHIRE 

within the boundaries of our county and have only a 
remote connection with its geology they need not be 
further noticed here. 

The Aqueous rocks are generally found arranged in 
layers or strata, and were originally laid down beneath the 
water in lakes, estuaries, or seas. The constant movement 
of the water wears away the surrounding land. Waves 
dashing against the cliffs break off fragments which, falling 
on the beach, are worn into pebbles, sand, or mud. Rivers 
also bring down great quantities of sediment, the result of 
the waste of the land surface under the influence of frost 
and rain. These materials get washed away by tidal and 
other currents and deposited in beds on the sea-floor, the 
coarser near land and the finer farther off. Mixed with 
them are the remains of plants and animals which lived 
and died during the time each particular bed was being 
laid down. 

In process of time, by local movements of the earth's 
crust, these beds perhaps become elevated into dry land, 
the water moves off into other depressions in the earth's 
surface, and the same process is again gone through. 
Thus records of the former distribution of land and sea, 
of the forms of life which then existed, and consequently 
of the climates which prevailed, are preserved in the rocks. 

The crust movements have affected the rocks in 
diflPerent degrees. Some while being elevated were 
sharply folded, and had their higher parts worn away 
before they were again depressed and another stratum 
laid down upon them. Others retain almost their original 
horizontal position so that the newer beds only gently 



Names oi* 
Systems 



Recent 
Pleistocene 



Pliocene 
Miocene 
Eocene 

Cretaceous 
Jurassic 

Triassic 

Permian 
Carboniferous 

Devonian 
-< Silurian 
Ordovician 
Cambrian 
Pre- Cambrian 



Subdivisions 

Metal Age Deposits 
Neolithic ,, 

Palaeolithic ,, 
Glacial „ 

Cromer Series 
Weybourne Crag 
Chillesford and Norwich Crags 
Red and Walton Crags 
Coralline Crag 

Absent from Britain 

Fluviomarine Beds of Hampshire 

Bagshot Beds 

London Clay 

Oldhaven Beds, Woolwich and Reading 

Thanet Sands [Groups 

Chalk 

Upper Greensand and Gault 
Lower Greensand 
Weald Clay 
V Hastings Sands 

Purbeck Beds 

Portland Beds 

Kimmeridge Clay 

Corallian Beds 

Oxford Clay and Kellaways Rock 

Corn brash 

Forest Marble 

Great Oolite with Stonesfield Slate 

Inferior Oolite 

Lias — Upper, Middle, and Lower 

Rhaetic 
Keuper Marls 
Keuper Sandstone 
Upper Bunter Sandstone 
Bunter Pebble Beds 
Lower Bunter Sandstone 

Magnesian Limestone and Sandstone 

Marl Slate 

Lower Permian Sandstone 

Coal Measures 
Millstone Grit 
Mountain Limestone 
Basal Carboniferous Rocks 

Up?*'' ) Devonian and Old Red Sand- 
^'d stone 

Lower / 

Ludlow Beds 
Wenlock Beds 
Llandovery Beds 

Caradoc Beds 
Llaiideilo Beds 
Arenig Beds 

Treniadoc Slates 

Lingula Flags 

Menevian Beds 

Harlech Grits and Llanberis Slates 

No definite classification yet made 



Characters of Rocks 



Superficial Deposits 



Sands chiefly 



- Clays and Sands chiefly 



Chalk at top 
Sandstones, Mud and 
Clays below 



Shales, Sandstones and 
Oolitic Limestones 



Red Sandstones and 
Marls, Gypbum and Salt 



Red Sandstones and 
Magnesian Limestone 

Sandstones, Shales and 
Coals at top 
Sandstones in middle 
Limestone and Shales belov 

Red Sandstones, 
Shales, Slates and Lime- 
stones 

Sandstones, Shales and 
Thin Limestones 

Shales, Slates, 
Sandstones and 
Thin Limestones 

Slates and 
Sandstones 

Sandstones, 
Slates and 
Volcanic Rock- 



38 OXFORDSHIRE 

overlap them. Others again have been buried deep down, 
almost beyond the limits of observation. 

Although a great variety of rocks exists even in a 
small country like England, it must not be supposed that 
more than a few can be found in any one locality. Some 
of the beds were originally of only small extent and 
others have been widely destroyed during periods of 
elevation, causing gaps to occur in the regular order of 
succession. However, when the whole country is ex- 
plored, many of these gaps can be filled up by examples 
taken from other localities and it becomes possible to 
construct a table like that given on page 37, showing , 
the position and age of any bed or formation relatively to 
the others. And these relative positions are constant. 
Once identify a bed as belonging to one of the great ■ 
systems and we know that it is newer than those lower 
down the diagram and older than those above, although 
none of them may be seen for many miles away. Fossils 
are excellent helps in identifying strata, as each age had 
its own peculiar forms of life, the remains of which are \ 
preserved in the rocks of that period. 

With most people the study of geology begins with 
an interest taken in fossils. These " medals of creation," 
as they have been called, so much like, and yet somehow 
unlike, the remains of creatures now living, and their 
position in the solid rocks far from the seas in which these 
organisms now live, early attracted the attention of the 
curious, and their beauty the desire of those who made 
collections. The small stone quarries which formerly- i' 
abounded throughout the northern and central parts of ■ 



GEOLOGY AND SOILS 39 

Oxfordshire were famous among the happy hunting- 
grounds of collectors like Plot (1677), Llwyd (1699), 
and Parkinson (1804) who described and illustrated the 
fossils of the county in books which now read like the 
narratives of early explorers of an unknown continent. 

Although the geological exploration of Oxfordshire 
has long been completed and the rough outlines of its 
rock-history described, there is still work to be done 
if only in following the footsteps of the old masters 
through quarries, pits, and river valleys, discovering fresh 
details and seeing new aspects of the science, so that 
there ought not to be any lack of interest in geology 
as an intellectual recreation as well as a study of practical 
importance. 

In Oxfordshire are found representatives of nearly 
every member of the Jurassic and Cretaceous systems 
together with traces of many of the later rocks. The 
oldest strata are exposed at the northern end of the county 
and the newer ones succeed one after the other as we 
proceed southwards. Generally each has a gentle dip to 
the south-east, in which direction most of them pass beyond 
the border, whilst north-westward they are cut off by 
denudation, the harder limestones forming steep escarp- 
ments and the softer clays low plains or valleys between. 

Although strata belonging to the Triassic system were 
proved at a depth of nearly 700 feet from the surface in 
a boring made near Burford, with Carboniferous rocks 
.500 feet deeper still, the oldest formation exposed within 
the county is the Lias with its three divisions of Lower, 
Middle and Upper, each having its own distinctive features. 



40 OXFORDSHIRE 

The Lower Lias consists of blue clay with many hard 
layers of impure limestone, and forms the low ground 
north of Banbury, extending thence over the broad plain 
at the foot of the Cotswold Hills. The Middle Lias is 
more sandy and contains a hard rock-bed known as the 
Marlstone, which stands up in the bold escarpment of 
Edge Hill and dips gently thence along the hill-tops near 
Banbury till it disappears beneath the clays of the upper 
division about Deddington. In places it contains iron 
ore, which has been worked at Fawley, Adderbury, and 
Hook Norton. 

The Lias was deposited in a shallow sea bordered by 
land consisting largely of rocks of Carboniferous age, 
whose dark shales supplied the muddy sediment of which 
the strata are composed. 

The sea swarmed with living creatures, chief among 
which were the great reptiles Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus 
together with countless ammonites and belemnites. 
Remains of these may easily be found among the fossils 
from any Lias quarry. 

The Lias is 1360 feet thick at Chipping Camden 
in Gloucestershire, but decreases to 627 feet in the 
Burford boring and to probably less in the southern part 
of Oxfordshire, the Upper and Middle divisions thinning 
very rapidly in that direction. 

Next above it comes the great series of rocks known 
as the Oolites, from the fact that many of these limestones 
are composed of small round grains like the roe of a fish. 
The lowest member of the series, the Inferior Oolite, 
crosses the county in a narrow band near Chipping 



GEOLOGY AND SOILS 41 

Norton and consists of variable layers of rubbly oolite, 
marl, and ragstone. Its average thickness in Oxfordshire 
is about 30 feet, but it becomes thicker both north-east- 
ward and south-westw^ard, attaining in the latter direction 
a thickness of 250 feet in the Cotswold Hills, where it 
contains many divisions of strata with marine fossils. 
North-eastward in Northamptonshire its fossils are of an 
estuarine character, showing that a large river entered the 
sea in that area. A common fossil in Oxfordshire is the 
echinoderm Clypeus ploti^ which it is said was once used 
for pound weights in the country districts. Now it may 
be occasionally seen forming the borders of flower-beds 
and other ornamental garden work. 

The next formation is the Great Oolite, a series of 
massive limestones with interbedded marl bands. About 
130 feet thick in Oxfordshire, it covers the high land 
or " wolds " in the centre of the county and has a steep 
escarpment facing the north-west and also along some of 
the river valleys. In the lower part of the series occurs 
the famous Stonesfield slate, a thin-bedded shelly limestone 
which has been worked since Roman times for roofing 
material, but is now very little used. Houses roofed with 
this material have an appearance which for picturesqueness 
will compare with any other kind of building. The 
fossils of the Stonesfield slate are of peculiar interest, 
especially the remains of small mammals which were 
recognised by the celebrated palaeontologist • Cuvier as 
long ago as 1818. The latter are however extremely 
rare, but other fossils are fairly common and are saved by 
the quarrymen for sale to visitors. 



42 OXFORDSHIRE 

A fine section across the Inferior and Great Oolite of 
Oxfordshire was recently exposed in the cuttings for the 
■new railway from Aynho to Bicester. 

Down the dip south-eastward the Great Oolite is 
overlaid by two thin but interesting formations, the Forest 
Marble and the Cornbrash. The former owes its name 
to the fact that formerly it was quarried in the old forest 
district of Wychwood, north-east of Burford, and the 
harder beds polished and used locally for chimney-pieces 
in the farm-houses. The Forest Marble consists of shelly 
limestones, frequently false-bedded, the result of having 
been laid down in shallow water with rapid currents. 
Its thickness in Oxfordshire varies from 15 to 50 feet. 
It abounds in shells of small oysters, and echinoderms 
are by no means rare. 

The Forest Marble is succeeded by the Cornbrash, 
an old agricultural term applied to stony and brashy soils 
suitable for the growth of corn. The Cornbrash formation 
consists of irregular layers of rubbly limestone with 
occasional seams of marl and clay. Although only from 
10 to 20 feet thick, it is remarkable for its uniform 
development throughout the county. Fossils, chiefly 
shells, are fairly common everywhere. 

The members of the Jurassic system already noticed 
appear to have accumulated as shoals and sand-banks 
in a shallow sea not far from land. The abundance of 
organic remains, and above all the presence of corals, 
seem to indicate a warm climate. With the deposition 
of the Cornbrash we see signs of a coming change. 
That formation was laid down in deeper and morfe 



GEOLOGY AND SOILS 43 

tranquil waters than the preceding beds, and at its close 
there was an irruption of mud into the sea and this 
continued till a thickness of 450 feet of clay was laid 
down over Oxfordshire. This formation is known as 
the Oxford Clay and is largely worked for brickmaking 
in the neighbourhood of the city. It is generally full of 
fossils such as ammonites and belemnites, while bones of 
huge reptiles are commonly met with. It was probably 
deposited with comparative rapidity, as there is no great 
change in the forms of life throughout its mass. 

Presently the water became clear again and shallower, 
and sand-banks were formed in places. On these banks 
shells collected and gradually formed a solid foundation on 
which grew coral reefs. This is the Corallian or Coralline 
Oolite, a so-called episodal formation ; that is, it was laid 
down during an interval between two great clays and was 
only developed in patches instead of being wide-spread. 
It is found however at intervals along a line reaching 
from Weymouth to Yorkshire. In Oxfordshire it has 
been much worked in the quarries about Headington and 
Shotover. It contains many interesting fossils, chiefly 
echinoderms and corals. 

At the close of this episode the muddy conditions 
returned and the Kimmeridge Clay was deposited. This 
formation, named after the village of Kimmeridge on the 
Dorset coast, has a thickness of 1200 feet in the south 
of England, but this dwindles to 100 feet in Oxfordshire. 
It is, as a rule, darker and more shaly than the Oxford 
Clay and may be seen in the brickyards on the western 
side of Shotover Hill. 



44 



OXFORDSHIRE 



At the close of the Kimmeridge Clay period the sea 
began to retreat from Oxfordshire, but before this finally 
took place sands and limestones of Portland age were laid 





Diplopodia 7>ersipora, Corallian 



Isastraea explanata, Corallian 





Ostraea deltoidea, Kim. and Cor. Gryphaea dilatata. Cor. and Oxf. Clay 
Fossils of the Kimmeridge Clay and Corallian 

down in the shallowing water. These now occur on 
Shotover Hill and about Garsington and Cuddesdon. 
Strata which have been referred to the overlying Purbeck 
Beds exist in small patches at Garsington and Brill. 



GEOLOGY AND SOILS 45 

With these the deposition of the strata belonging to the 
Jurassic system closed and a period of local elevation 
followed, during which great masses of the beds, especially 
of the later ones, were swept away, leaving, in some 
cases, only fragments to tell of their former wide ex- 
tension. 

We now come to the Cretaceous system of formations. 
The ironsands with inter-bedded clay beds on the top of 
Shotover Hill and extending along the ridge towards 
Wheatley, together with similar beds on Brill Common 
just over the border, are supposed to be of fresh-water 
origin and of the age of Wealden Beds of the south-east 
of England. The ironsands of Nuneham, Culham, and 
Clifton Hampden are of Lower Greensand age, and were 
deposited along the shores of a sea whose waters lay to 
the south-east. These compose the Lower Cretaceous 
series, and they suffered great local denudation before the 
beds of the upper part of the system were laid down 
upon them. 

The Upper Cretaceous beds begin with the Gault, 
a dark blue clay locally about 200 feet thick. It has 
been worked for brickmaking near Thame and again at 
Culham, where the clay pit on the banks of the Thames 
shows a very interesting section. The Gault at this 
place rests directly on the Kimmeridge Clay, all the 
intervening formations which were almost certainly de- 
posited here having been denuded before the commence- 
ment of Upper Cretaceous times. Next above the Gault 
comes the Upper Greensand, represented in Oxfordshire 
mainly by a rock known as Malmstone, about 90 feet 



iQ 



OXFORDSHIRE 



thick. This rock, which has an appearance somewhat 
resembhng chalk, differing from that rock however in 
being largely siliceous instead of calcareous, forms a 
well-marked ridge overlooking the clay plain north of 
Watlington, and is exposed in pits on Clare Hill. 

About 12 feet of Greensand succeeds and then begins 




Malmstone Quarry, near Watlington 

the great Chalk formation which forms the Chiltern 
Hills in the southern part of the county. The Chalk, 
locally about 650 feet in total thickness, is a deposit of an 
open sea which contained very little land-derived sediment, 
being almost entirely composed of organic remains either 
entire or in a state of comminution. It is divided into 
three parts. The Lower Chalk is characterised by the 



GEOLOGY AND SOILS 47 

presence of fossil ammonites and the absence of flints. 
It is also more marly than either of the other two 
divisions, and stretches out some distance over the lov^ 
ground at the foot of the great escarpment. Above it 
and forming most of the face of the escarpment is the 
Middle Chalk, in rather thick beds and with very few 
flints. Recognisable fossils are scarce in this division. 
The Middle Chalk is also exposed along the side of the 
Thames Valley below Henley, the upper division having 
been worn away there by the river. The junction of the 
two divisions is well shown in a pit near Medmenham in 
Buckinghamshire. Between them there is a band of very 
hard rock containing many fossils of kinds not found 
in beds either above or below, and known as the Chalk 
Rock. 

The Upper Chalk is familiar from the numerous 
bands of flints it contains. It now covers nearly the 
whole of the Chiltern Hills. Southward and eastward of 
the county higher beds of chalk with few flints are found, 
but if these were ever deposited in Oxfordshire they were 
denuded previous to the laying down of the Eocene clays 
and sands. The latter, comprising the Reading Beds and 
the London Clay, only occur in a few small outliers at 
Nettlebed, Biniield Heath near Sonning, and a few other 
places high up in the Chilterns. 

The London Clay was probably the last of the solid 
rocks to be deposited in Oxfordshire and at the close of 
its period the county was finally elevated into dry land. 
From then till the present day its surface has been subject 
to the erosive action of atmospheric agencies in the form 



48 OXFORDSHIRE 

of water and ice. These have worn away the softer 
clays into low-lying plains and river valleys, leaving the 
more resisting limestones, sands, and chalk standing as 
hills and table-lands. 

The force of falling rain-drops and the alternate 
freezing and thawing of the surface in winter break up 
the rocks more rapidly than the running water can carry 
the debris away, and so we find what geologists call super- 
ficial deposits occurring over the greater part of the 
county. In some places, especially on the Oolitic lime- 
stone tracts, there is nothing more than the simple soil 
formed by the disintegration of the solid rock in place. 
In others, as on the Chiltern Hills, there is a covering 
sometimes of considerable thickness of clay-with-flints, 
the result of the breaking up of clay beds of Eocene age 
mixed with flints derived from the chalk and left behind 
when the calcareous part of that rock has been dissolved. 
In the larger valleys again there is gravel and loam which 
the streams have brought down and have not been able 
to carry farther. These often occur as terraces at various 
heights along the sides of the valleys. In Oxfordshire 
some of these terrace-gravels are noticeable as containing 
flint implements, the work of the earlier races of men 
who inhabited the country. Wolvercote, Turner's Court 
near Wallingford, Caversham, and Shiplake are well- 
known localities for these relics. 

As might be expected from the variety of rocks 
occurring therein, the soils of Oxfordshire are of many 
different descriptions. As a rule the Jurassic area is well 
cultivated. The Marlstone of the Middle Lias and many 



GEOLOGY AND SOILS 49 

of the Oolitic limestones furnish a soil well suited for 
corn-growing. The Oxford Clay where not covered 
with drift or rain-wash is often cold and stiff, and expen- 
sive to cultivate, and its area is mainly under grass. The 
great plain which crosses the county along the foot of the 
chalk escarpment and connects the Vale of White Horse 
on the west with the Vale of Aylesbury on the east, 
contains some of the best corn land in the kingdom. 
The tops of the Chiltern Hills with their covering of 
poor stony clays were formerly thickly wooded ; and, 
though on account of the high price of corn they were 
at one time much broken up for tillage, the arable land 
is now being replaced by plantations and the district is 
becoming a residential rather than an agricultural one. 



7. Natural History — Fauna and Flora. 

The conditions of life and the character and climate 
of Britain were very different in early times from what 
they are to-day, and if we want to know the kinds of 
animals which existed in former times it is necessary to 
learn what geology has to tell us about the physical 
aspect of the country. There was a time when this 
country was connected with the continent of Europe. 
The English Channel and North Sea did not exist and 
were mere valleys with rivers running through them fed by 
many streams. Where the North Sea now rolls there was 
the great valley of the Rhine ; and as there were no oceans 
to cross, animals wandered northwards and westwards 

D. o. 4 



50 OXFORDSHIRE 

as they pleased from southern lands and made their abode 
here. Hence the country possessed the same kinds of 
animals as inhabited western Europe. Many of these 
have become extinct, but we find their remains as fossils, 
embedded in various superficial deposits. Amongst them 
are the bones of the bear, reindeer, hyaena, two kinds of 
elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, urus, bison, and red 
deer. The question arises, how did these creatures become 
extinct in Britain ? Why did they desert our shores, or 
leave their bones in the caves and hills ? 

It is a little difficult to obtain an entirely satisfactory 
answer, though one manifest explanation accounts for 
a good deal. In many cases, no doubt, they were 
driven southward by the severe cold of the Glacial 
Period and by the time the climate had ameliorated the 
sea had worked its way up the English Channel, broken 
through the chalk cliffs near Dover, and met the waves 
of the North Sea which flowed over the old Rhine valley. 
Hence the animals from the continent could not return 
to re-occupy their abandoned territory, and we have fewer 
species than France or Belgium. Ireland became sepa- 
rated from England before a sufficient length of time had 
elapsed to permit of its becoming peopled with all of the 
fauna of the latter country, and hence shows fewer species 
than England just as England shows fewer species than 
the continent. The same causes which produced a dimi- 
nution of animals in Great Britain and Ireland as com- 
pared with those of the continent, also led to the 
lessening of the number of species of wild plants. 

There are three sorts of plants in every country : — 



NATURAL HISTORY 51 

(i) Native plants^ the aboriginal species, which have 
always lived there : (2) Denizens, which are now almost 
native, but have at some remote period been introduced, 
e.g. the common elm or the Scots fir : (3) Colonists, or 
plants or weeds that owe their occurrence to the opera- 
tions of man, e.g. the red poppy. 

The total number of species of plants native in the 
British Isles is about 1750 and that of colonists, denizens, 
and aliens about 250 ; but, of these, 144 are confined to the 
neighbourhood of the sea, 1 7 are confined to Ireland, and 
20 to the Channel Isles, while 200 are plants of northern 
latitudes, or are not found so far south as Oxfordshire. 
There are, therefore, 1369 species which might possibly 
be found in Oxfordshire. Mr Druce, whose book on the 
flora of the county is indispensable to the student, records 
that there have been found in Oxfordshire 847 native 
plants, 49 denizens, and 43 colonists, making a total of 
939. Hence there are no fewer than 430 species which 
have not been recorded. It is possible that some reader 
may discover some of these. As Mr Druce says, " by a 
botanist finality can never be attained, since only a small 
portion comparatively of the actual surface of the ground 
comes under his observation and then only for a short 
time." 

Botany is closely associated with geology. Some 
kinds of soil are favourable to some plants, while other 
plants require quite a different home and nurture. The 
region of Wychwood Forest on the limestone plateau 
rears many beautiful flowers. The orchid tribe is well 
represented in the county. We have the bird's nets 

4—2 



52 OXFORDSHIRE 

orchis, a singular plant, its stem, seeds, and flowers all 
being of a dingy brown hue and looking at first sight like 
a withered stem. It derives its name from the short thick 
fleshy entangled fibres of its roots, which remind us of 
the sticks used by some of our larger birds in the frame- 
work of their nests. It flowers in June in the dark beech- 
woods of the Chilterns and is known by botanists as the 
Listera nidus-avis^ the name Listera being derived from 
that of the distinguished botanist, Dr Martin Lister. 
Another orchid is the pyramidal orchis (O. pyramidaUs\ 
a lovely plant that prefers chalky soils and grows among 
grass. It has a tint of rich crimson purple, and flowers 
in July. Another is the green man orchis [Aceras 
anthropophord) whose yellow and green flowers show some 
faint resemblance to the human figure. The bee orchis 
(O. apifera\ one of the prettiest of our wild flowers of a 
chalky soil, resembles a large velvety bee. It blooms in 
June and July. One orchis (Ophrys musciferd) assumes 
the form of a fly, and other species such as the marsh, 
the spotted, the early purple, and the green-winged orchis 
are to be met with. 

North-west of Oxford, in the region of the old forest 
of Wychwood, is a rich and varied flora, amongst which 
are the hound's tongue {Cynoglossuni officinale)^ the deadly 
nightshade [Atropa belladonna\ lilies of the valley, the 
Helleborus fcetidus^ lady's mantle, tooth-wort, and moon- 
wort. By the pools are found many beautiful sedges, 
bulrushes, and mosses. 

In the marshy meadows adjoining the Thames and 
Cherwell quite a different vegetation is found and the 



NATURAL HISTORY 53 

banks of the rivers abound with flowers, reeds, and rushes. 
A very characteristic flower is the fritillary [Fritillaria 
meleagrii) commonly known as the snake's-head, very 
rare in many parts of the country but quite common 
here. Rare water-plants sometimes occur in this district, 
amongst them Nitella mucronata^ only three times pre- 
viously recorded in the British Isles. The fringed 
waterlily and the water violet are found in the river 
near Binsey, and the birth-wort [Arlstolochia clematitis) at 
Godstow. The districts about Boar's Hill, west of 
Oxford, and about Shotover Hill, on the south-east, are 
the most interesting portions of botanising country in the 
centre of England. A long list might be given of the 
numerous flowers and plants that may be found there. 
The chalk hills of the Chilterns grow many plants which 
are not found elsewhere, and are gay with foxgloves, 
traveller's joy, gentians, and several kinds of orchids. 

The fauna of Oxfordshire includes some interesting 
creatures. Foxes abound in the districts hunted by the 
South Oxfordshire, Heythrop, and Bicester hunts. The 
polecat is still found in the great woods, and the stoat loves 
the banks of the Thames, where he catches water-rats, 
young moorhens, and other small mammals and birds. 
The badger exists fairly numerously and otters frequent 
the Thames and its tributaries, and are often hunted by 
the Bucks otter hounds. The squirrel, dormouse, harvest 
mouse — the smallest of all rodents — wood or long-tailed 
field mouse, and house mouse are plentiful, though the 
last little pest is not so plentiful as it was. The brown 
or common rat has somewhat decreased in numbers. The 



54 OXFORDSHIRE 

water rat loves the Thames and its tributaries, and the 
bank vole or field vole is not uncommon. Hares abound 
in the county and the Peppard farmers hunt them in the 
Chiltern country near Nettlebed. They are especially 
plentiful near Thame, Churchill, Lyneham, Sarsden, and 
Chadlington. Rabbits have diminished in number in 
some places since the Ground Game Act was passed, but 
swarm on the juniper-covered downs, where they can do 
little harm. In some parts of the county both hares and 
rabbits are so plentiful that it would seem that the only 
effect of the Ground Game Act has been to lead farmers 
to preserve these animals more carefully. Deer are kept 
in twelve parks, all of them fallow deer. Before the 
enclosing of the forests there were plenty of red deer and 
many poachers and deer-stealers. " Burford bait " was 
renowned — an apple with a hook concealed in it, by 
means of which deer were caught and then killed. 

The Thames is a grand river for fish. It was once 
a salmon river, before the numerous obstructions and the 
polluted mouth of the river prevented this fish from coming 
up from the sea in order to lay its spawn. The salmon 
will overcome all obstacles in order to beget its young, 
but it cannot face the polluted waters of the Thames at 
London. In recent years thousands of salmon smelts 
have been turned into the river, so that perhaps it may 
become a salmon river again. 

The Thames trout is finer than any trout found 
in the other rivers of the British Isles, and from earliest 
times the Thames has been regarded as one of the 
most important angling rivers in England. Dr Plot 



NATURAL HISTORY 55 

states that " the plenty and goodness of the fish are a 
sure indication of the wholesomeness of the waters " ; 
and that in 1674 the mayor and bailiffs of the city 
" between St Swithin's wear and Woolvercot Bridge," 
a distance of three miles, in two days caught 1500 jacks, 
besides other fish. Half a century ago many professional 
fishermen made a livelihood by netting the fish. Some 
people say that there are now fewer fish in the river than 
formerly, but thousands of fish have been placed in the 
waters — trout, bream, roach, perch, tench, rudd, and carp. 
Some of the fish taken are of o^reat size. At Bablock 
Hythe in 1896 a pike of 26 lbs. was captured, and we 
hear of barbel weighing close on 12 lbs., and chub of 
7 lbs. 

The Windrush and Evenlode trout used to be famous, 
but the pollution of the waters has diminished their num- 
bers. Chub and dace frequent the Windrush. Fishermen 
usually wage war on the coarse fish, such as pike and 
perch, and net and destroy them, in order to improve the 
condition of the trout. The natural condition of the 
rivers is much altered by man's agency, and into the 
Cherwell river have been introduced bream from Lincoln- 
shire and perch from Windermere. The rudd seems to 
have disappeared from the Cherwell. 

Dr Plot mentions some peculiar fish, and wonders also 
at two salmon taken at Lillingstone Lovell, about a yard 
in length, in a small brook (a branch of the Quse) that a 
man may step over, little less, as the river runs, than two 
hundred miles from the sea. Crayfish and other fresh- 
water shell-fish the learned Doctor discovered, some of 



m OXFORDSHIRE 

which he searched for pearls, but lost his labour, as he 
could only find the smooth sort and not those with 
craggy rough outsides in which the precious gem (accord- 
ing to Sir Hugh Plat's work on The Jewel-house of Art 
and Nature) could alone be discovered. With such re- 
searches did this early naturalist and observer amuse and 
instruct his readers in the year 1677. 

As we have already noticed there is a great variety in 
the soils and scenery of the county, some parts being 
bleak and monotonous, others abounding in woods, while 
along the rivers are wet and low-lying lands, where in 
former days the wild-fowl shooter earned a substantial 
livelihood. This variety of scenery has produced a corre- 
sponding variety in bird-life. The inclosure of wild 
tracts of heather-land and the tillage of the soil, the 
cutting down of woods and forests, have had their influence 
on ornithology, and it is not surprising that many birds 
have left their old haunts. During the last hundred 
years the kite, buzzard, harrier, raven, and bittern have 
practically disappeared, though they were fairly plentiful 
formerly. 

Oxfordshire is too far inland to attract many of the 
winter visitors which are seen on the coast of East Anglia 
and Kent, but it has a large number of the species which 
are common in the south-eastern district of Britain. 
Gulls of various kinds come up the Thames during severe 
weather at sea, and find a pleasant retreat on the un- 
enclosed Port Meadow north of Oxford. The numerous 
rivers, favoured haunts of the sedge and reed warblers, 
attract many migrants in their flight to and from their 



NATURAL HISTORY 57 

northern home, and many kinds of wild duck, swans, and 
other waterfowl. 

Altogether there are 242 species of birds in the county 
apart from a few others, the presence of which has not 
been indisputably established. This number is larger than 
that of the birds in the neighbouring counties. Of this 
large list 60 are residents, 71 periodical migrants, and iii 
occasional or accidental visitors. The Upper Thames was 
formerly a grand region for waterfowl of all kinds, but 
drainage and inclosures have diminished their numbers. 
Otmoor before it was drained and inclosed used to swarm 
with wildfowl, and in spite of all that has been done to 
spoil their paradise, many still remain, and thousands are 
captured in a decoy just over the Buckinghamshire border. 
The Chilterns with their juniper bushes attract the stone- 
chat, whinchat, and wheatear, and here too may sometimes 
be seen the dotterel and the stone curlew. The beautiful 
parks of Oxfordshire form excellent sanctuaries for birds, 
and waterfowl abound on the large ornamental lakes. 

Oxfordshire people have invented some curious names 
for the birds that visit them. Thus a quail is called a 
twit-me-dick, a golden plover is a whistler, a hooded crow 
a dun crow, a missel-thrush a gizer. A green woodpecker 
is a hickle, whereas our Berkshire neighbours call the 
bird a yaffle or yaffler, and the humble hedge sparrow is 
surnamed Billy. 

Those who wish to know more of the birds of the 
county should consult Mr O. V. Aplin's book on the 
Birds of Oxfordshire. Herein are "no stories told you of 
what is to be seen at the other end of the world, but 



58 OXFORDSHIRE 

of things at home in your own native country, at your 
own door, easily examinable with little travel, less cost, 
and very little hazard," as Master Childrey observed con- 
cerning another book as long ago as 1661. 



8. Climate. 

The climate of a country or district is, briefly, the 
average weather of that country or district, and it depends 
upon various factors, all mutually interacting ; upon the 
latitude, the temperature, the direction and strength of 
the winds, the rainfall, the character of the soil, and the 
proximity of the district to the sea. 

The differences in the climates of the world depend 
mainly upon latitude, but a scarcely less important 
factor is proximity to the sea. Along any great climatic 
zone there will be found variations in proportion to this 
proximity, the extremes being " continental " climates 
in the centres of continents far from the oceans, and 
" insular " climates in small tracts surrounded by sea. 
Continental climates show great differences in seasonal 
temperatures, the winters tending to be unusually cold 
and the summers unusually warm, while the climate of 
insular tracts is characterised by equableness and also by 
greater dampness. Great Britain possesses, by reason of 
its position, a temperate insular climate, but its average 
annual temperature is much higher than could be expected 
from its latitude. The prevalent south-westerly winds 
cause a movement of the surface-waters of the Atlantic 



CLIMATE 59 

towards our shores, and this warm-water current, which 
we know as the Gulf Stream, is one of the chief causes of 
the mildness of our winters. 

Most of our weather comes to us from the Atlantic. 
It would be impossible here within the limits of a short 
chapter to discuss fully the causes which affect or control 
weather changes. It must suffice to say that the conditions 
are in the main either cyclonic or anticyclonic, which 
terms may be best explained, perhaps, by comparing the 
air currents to a stream of water. In a stream a chain 
of eddies may often be seen fringing the more steadily- 
moving central water. Regarding the general north- 
easterly moving air from the Atlantic as such a stream, a 
chain of eddies may be developed in a belt parallel with 
its general direction. This belt of eddies or cyclones, as 
they are termed, tends to shift its position, sometimes 
passing over our islands, sometimes to the north or south 
of them, and it is to this shifting that most of our weather 
changes are due. Cyclonic conditions are associated with 
a greater or less amount of atmospheric disturbance ; 
anticyclonic with calms. 

The prevalent Atlantic winds largely aff'ect our island 
in another way, namely in its rainfall. The air, heavily 
laden with moisture from its passage over the ocean, 
meets with elevated land-tracts directly it reaches our 
shores — the moorland of Devon and Cornwall, the Welsh 
mountains, or the fells of Cumberland and Westmorland 
— and blowing up the rising land-surface, parts with this 
moisture as rain. To how great an extent this occurs 
is best seen by reference to the map of the annual 



ENGLAND & WALES 

ANNUAL RAINFALL 

Statute Miles 

O 20 40 60 80 




6ECRGE PMiUPi SON L'.» 

{The figures gi^e the approximate annual rainfall in inches) 



CLIMATE 61 

rainfall of England on the opposite page, where it will at 
once be noticed that the heaviest fall is in the west, and 
that it decreases with remarkable regularity until the least 
fall is reached on our eastern shores. Thus in 1908, the 
maximum rainfall for the year occurred at Llyn Uydaw in 
the Snowdon district, where 237 inches of rain fell ; and 
the lowest was at Bourne in Lincolnshire, with a record 
of about 15 inches. These western highlands, therefore, 
may not inaptly be compared to an umbrella, sheltering 
the country farther eastward from the rain. 

The above causes, then, are those mainly concerned 
in influencing the weather, but there are other and more 
local factors which often affect greatly the climate of a 
place, such, for example, as configuration, position, and 
soil. The shelter of a range of hills, a southern aspect, 
a sandy soil, will thus produce conditions which may 
differ greatly from those of a place — perhaps at no great 
distance — situated on a wind-swept northern slope with 
a cold clay soil. 

If a range of hills lies across the onward path of 
moisture-laden winds, the rainfall is largely increased on 
the side facing the winds, and reduced over the country 
on the other side of the range. This is evident in 
Oxfordshire. The south-westerly winds bring most rain, 
on account of their long sweep over the Atlantic ; but 
the rain clouds discharge their moisture over the western 
hills, and therefore when the winds reach the plains of 
Oxfordshire they are drier, as the air descends to lower 
levels. There is, for this reason, more rain on the Edge 
Hills and in the Chiltern district than in other parts of the 



62 OXFORDSHIRE 

shire, and the rainfall in the central district and in the 
north is fairly small. 

Inhabitants of Oxford always speak disparagingly of 
its climate. A damp dull day with showers and fog is 
always regarded as typical Oxford weather, but unjustly. 
The rainfall is not remarkably heavy, though the proximity 
of the river Thames tends to keep the atmosphere moist. 
The climate of the county is for the most part salubrious 
and dry, but in winter colder than the other southern 
districts of England, especially in the bleak and exposed 
regions of the Chilterns, though in summer it is warmer. 

The Radcliffe Observatory at Oxford is the only 
organised meteorological station of the first class in the 
county, and though there are now several other stations, 
there is a dearth of reliable weather statistics elsewhere in 
Oxfordshire. The Observatory, erected in 1772, takes its 
name from the munificent Dr RadclifFe, who built also 
the RadclifFe Library and the Radcliffe Infirmary, and 
was a benefactor to University College. It has an 
octagonal tower designed from the Temple of the Winds 
at Athens and surmounted by a large globe supported by 
figures of Atlas and Hercules. The Observatory is fitted 
with the best modern astronomical instruments, and the 
height of the barometer and thermometer, the direction 
of the winds, and the state of the weather are registered 
continuously by an ingenious apparatus of photography. 

The average rainfall at Oxford, the mean of 94 years, 
is 26-013 inches, and it may be concluded from reasons 
stated above and from actual observations, that the rainfall 
on the Chilterns is about two inches higher, and that there 



CLIMATE 



63 



is also an increase in the hilly regions of the northern 
part of the county. 

The average temperature, the mean of 8i years, at 
Oxford is 48°*88, which is rather above the average (48°) 
for the whole of England. The county, however, is not 
conspicuous for its sunshine. Our southern and eastern 
coast-towns generally show the highest average in this 




Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford 

respect, 1800 hours out of the possible 4435 hours the 
sun is above the horizon being often recorded, and some- 
times nearly 2000. But its inland position and liability 
to fogs give Oxfordshire a less favourable record, and the 
average hours of bright sunshine in Oxford, from a mean 
of 28 years, is only 1465 hours. The sun thus shines at 
Oxford about one-third of the possible maximum number 



64 OXFORDSHIRE 

of hours, and though we have no reliable statistics from 
places further away from river fogs, we may conclude 
that it is a little brio-hter there. 



9. People — Race, Dialect, Settlements, 
Population. 

Oxfordshire at the time of the Roman conquest of 
Britain was inhabited, as we have said, by the Dobuni, 
a warlike Celtic tribe who had for their neighbours other 
powerful tribes, whose names have already been recorded. 
Amongst them were the Catuvelauni on the west (familiar 
to the readers of Tennyson as the Catyeuchlanians) with 
whom the Dobuni were continually at war, and who, at 
one time, held all the district, making the Edge Hills their 
western boundary. The Dobuni submitted themselves 
to Aulus Plautius at Cirencester. Oxfordshire has few 
Roman towns, though it could show many fine villas, the 
residences of powerful Romans. During the four centuries 
of Roman rule, the history of the district is a blank. 
Doubtless many of the Britons lingered on, slaves and 
servants of the Roman lord, or as wild outlaws in the 
great woods, ever ready to raid or attack a lonely farm. 
But the Romans disappeared and the Saxons came, and 
thoroughly colonised the district. 

The Celts however left traces of themselves behind 
them in the names of the rivers. The words Thames 
or Temese, meaning broad water, Thame, Isis, Evenlode, 
or Avonlode, Ray, Cherwell, are all Celtic, and also 



PEOPLE— RACE, DIALECT, SETTLEMENTS 65 

Dorchester, the city of the Dur-otriges, or dwellers by 
the water. 

The Saxons thoroughly colonised the district and by 
far the greater number of place-names declare their origin. 
All words ending in ton^ or ham^ or field^ or ford^ are 
Saxon, and were first formed as settlements of Saxon 
families and clearings in the forests. Oxfordshire is a 
Saxon county, and the people retain many of the charac- 
teristics of their ancestors. We are, however, not without 
some traces of the Danish conquerors. Thorpe^ or throp^ 
meaning a village, betrays their existence, and the words 
Heythrop, Dunthrop, Thrup, near Woodstock, and 
Cokethorpe, show that they had some settlements or 
villages in the county. Oxfordshire folk are chiefly 
descendants of the Anglo-Saxons. 

The great and powerful Norman families who came 
over with the Conqueror or subsequently rose to power 
have given their names to some villages and estates. 
Thus we find the Harcourts at Stanton Harcourt, the 
St Johns at Stanton St John, the Baldwins at Brightwell 
Baldwin, the Peppards or Pypards at Rotherfield Peppard, 
the Greys at Rotherfield Greys. Sometimes the Normans 
gave a name to a place, which was afterwards corrupted 
and Anglicised. Thus the hill outside Oxford they 
called chateau vert^ but it is difficult to recognise in that 
name the origin of the Shotover of to-day. 

There does not seem to have been any extensive im- 
migration of foreigners into Oxfordshire. At the univer- 
sity there were many students of other nations, and foreign 
teachers and doctors often taught in the schools of the 

D. o. 5 



6{) 



OXFORDSHIRE 



university. But all these were migratory, and had little 
effect on the population of the county. There is, how- 
ever, evidence that Flemish weavers came to Witney to 
improve the art of the clothiers, and the family of 
Brabant is especially mentioned in the records of that 
town. 

The county, being mostly agricultural, has suffered 




An Oxfordshire Farm 



from the depression which has tried that industry, and 
the population has decreased. Young men in these days 
find the country dull and fly to the towns for employment 
and amusement. It does not always happen that they are 
better off in towns, as the rents and cost of living are 
dearer, and they have no gardens. When the last census 
of 191 1 was taken, the population of the administrative 



PEOPLE— RACE, DIALECT, SETTLEMENTS Q7 

county was 199,277 persons. Ten years earlier it was 
186,460. At the beginning of the nineteenth century it 
was 111,977; ^^ there has been an increase during the 
last 100 years. The great decrease of the population is 
in the country villages. The suburbs of Oxford has 
increased enormously along the Woodstock and Banbury 
roads, and during the last century has added 37,057 to 
its inhabitants. Caversham has become a suburban portion 
of the Berkshire town Reading; its inhabitants increased 
from 3583 in 1881 to 6580 in 1901, and at the last 
census the numbers have risen to 9858. Along the 
Thames' banks many houses have been built, but the 
old-fashioned market towns. Chipping Norton, Bicester, 
Thame, and Witney, have remained almost stationary in 
population. 

The census shows that in Oxfordshire the females 
exceeded the males by 3172. 



10. Agriculture — Main Cultivations, 
Stock, Woodlands. 

As agriculture is the most important industry of the 
county, it will be interesting to study some particulars 
concerning it. A large proportion of the land is under 
cultivation. Great Britain has 56,200,000 acres, and 
of these 32,243,447 acres are being cultivated. The 
administrative county of Oxford contains 475,968 acres, 
including water, and of these 411,874 acres are under 
cultivation, about eight-ninths of the total area of the 

5—2 



68 OXFORDSHIRE 

county. But of this more than half, or 208,524 acres, 
are permanent pasture. 

The soil of Oxfordshire differs considerably during its 
length of 50 miles. We have 80,000 acres of red land 
in the regions of Banbury, Hook Norton, Adderbury, 
and Wigginton, which is good farming land, neither too 
light nor too strong; 166,000 acres of stonebrash round 
Blenheim, Chesterton, Witney, Burford, and Charlbury, 
which is excellent for sheep and barley; 66,000 acres of 
flinty-covered ground about the Chilterns, which is not 
so good, but the flat arable fields round Reading are pro- 
fitable, except when they are burnt up in hot dry summers. 
Besides all these, there are many acres of varying soil, 
which are used for grazing land and milking pastures. 

The corn crops of Oxfordshire consist of wheat, 
barley, oats, beans, and peas. Rye is not much grown 
in the county. Wheat crops occupy 38,638 acres, about 
half the area used for this crop 40 years ago. This is 
owing to the great decrease in the price of wheat, and to 
the large amount imported, for some 28,000,000 quarters 
of wheat, in addition to much flour, are sent to this country 
every year from abroad. Recently the price of corn has 
been steadily advancing; hence there has been a slight 
increase in its cultivation, and it is to be hoped that this 
will bring some return of prosperity to the farmers. In 
1907 wheat crops covered 32,968 acres; in 1908 the 
acreage increased to 33,703, in 1909 to 38,638. 

Barley occupies 34,966 acres, whereas 40 years ago 
it required 52,069 acres for its cultivation. Oats, on the 
other hand, have greatly increased. In 1867 the acreage 



AGRICULTURE 



69 



under this cereal was 22,862; in 1908 it had gone up to 
34,485, but in 1909 it had dwindled to 32,210. 

Vetches, turnips, and swedes are largely grown. As 
we shall see presently, Oxfordshire farmers breed many 
sheep and cattle, which depend for their subsistence on 
these crops of turnips and swedes, as well as on corn, cake, 
and hay. The sheep are penned in hurdles on the fields 



-m^- 


"? 


^Ht'. -' .^^^^1^^^ 




■LT^'' 


. ■ 


^^^^^^i^^pBBBBB|^BB|| 





Oxford Down Ram 

and consume the roots on the ground, thus tending greatly 
to manure and enrich the land. Mangolds have risen in 
favour recently for the feeding of sheep and are much 
cultivated. 

The soil of Oxfordshire is suitable for potatoes, the 
acreage of which has doubled during the last 40 years ; 
and lucerne, sainfoin, red clover, as well as white, and 
trefoil are much sown. 



70 OXFORDSHIRE 

The Oxfordshire live-stock requires Httle description 
except the sheep, which are an important feature. Farm 
horses have recently improved in quality, but everyv^here 
the increased use of machinery for farming purposes 
tends to diminish their number, and motors and steam- 
tractors will, perhaps, render the breed of horses extinct. 
Short-horn cows are usually found on most of the farms, 
and sandy-coloured pigs, a cross between the Tamworth 
and the Berkshire breeds. The Oxfordshire sheep are 
famous, and are known as the "Oxford Down" or 
"Down Cotswold," a cross between a Cotswold and 
a Hampshire. They produce splendid fleeces of wool 
and good mutton, and there is not a better breed in 
En2;land than the Oxfordshire sheep, which an old 
agricultural writer calls " the glory of the county." A 
recent observer has said of them: — "The sheep so gross, 
so superb, so immense, have been commemorated by many 
artists of an earlier day. You can hardly enter a farm- 
house or an inn without seeing these unwieldy objects 
limned for your admiration, and you wonder how such 
small legs could support so weighty a fleece. But it is 
these same sheep that gave the Cotswolds their old pros- 
perity, and made Northleach and Burford, and such towns 
rich in their wool-staplers, who belonged to the staple of 
Calais." The same writer speaks of the Cotswold dog 
as "a great woolly creature with very little of a tail, and 
his gambols remind one of Macaulay's hippopotamus." 
But he is a faithful animal and most intelligent in the 
driving and herding of sheep. 

In spite of the destruction of woods and forests, there 



AGRICULTURE 



71 



are still 18,528 acres in the county covered with timber, 
and 763 acres have been planted during the last ten years. 
People have begun at last to pay some attention to growing 
trees ; we used to content ourselves with cutting down 
the trees which our ancestors planted, and never planting 
others to take their places. But during the last ten years 
nearly half a million acres have been planted throughout 




Worcester College Gardens 

England, though the area of Oxfordshire woodland during 
that period has decreased, and no less than 6000 acres of 
woods and plantations have been shorn of their trees since 
1905. There are some grand trees and magnificent parks 
in the county, and many of the colleges have beautiful 
gardens. In Holton Park there is an oak measuring 
28 feet in circumference, just above the ground, an elm 



n OXFORDSHIRE 

28 feet 4 inches, and a beech 19 feet. Dr Plot mentions 
an oak near Nuneham Courtenay that shades 460 square 
yards, beneath which 2420 men could shelter themselves 
from rain or sun. At Magdalen College, Oxford, there 
was an oak that shaded 768 square yards, and one at Rycote 
that shaded 972 square yards. On Kidlington Green 
was a giant hollow oak that was used for imprisoning 
vagabonds for a night before they were removed to Oxford 
gaol, and eight or ten could be conveniently housed, the 
tree being 25 feet round. 



II. Industries and Manufactures.^ 

The county has several important industries and 
manufactures, some of which depend largely for their 
support on the needs of Oxford University. It has few 
natural products to aid it in its industrial enterprise. As 
already said, the Thames river was a valuable asset in the 
days before railways were invented. It opened the London 
market for the goods of Oxford and Henley, from which 
place malt was sent to the metropolis in very early times. 
The pure waters of the Cherwell induced the leather- 
dressers to establish their industry at Oxford in the seven- 
teenth century, and those of the Windrush doubtless 
partly accounted for the excellence of the Witney 
blankets. The rich fleeces of the Cotswold sheep made 
this wool-trade prosperous, and cloth-weaving was 
extensively carried on in most of the towns and villages 
of the shire until steam and coal turned the fortunes of 



INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 73 

the textile industry elsewhere. An important natural 
product is the building-stone which abounds in many 
parts. Clay for making bricks is plentiful, and the iron 
ore which was discovered in the northern part of the 
county 50 years ago has been extensively worked, and 
in one year as much as 36,808 tons, worth ;£772i, 
have been dug up. The ore is sent to the furnaces of 
South Staffordshire and North Wales. These are the 
only industries that arise out of the natural products of 
the county. 

The presence of the University at Oxford has called 
into being the University Press, which is the largest 
concern in the city, employing several hundreds of work- 
people. It dates back to the dawn of printing in England, 
its earliest book, a treatise on the Apostles' Creed, having 
been printed in 1468, or as most scholars think in 1478. 
The history of the Press has not been continuous. There 
have been breaks and periods when there was no printing 
press in Oxford. In 15 17 printing was revived, continued 
for a few years, and then ceased. In 1585 the Oxford 
Press again started, and has continued ever since to pro- 
duce the copies of the Holy Scriptures and works of 
learning for which it is famous. Countless numbers of 
books have issued from this Press. When the Revised 
Version of the New Testament was issued on May 17th, 
1 88 1, a million copies were sold on the first day. Since 
its first commencement in 1478 to the beginning of the 
present century it has printed 19,475 works, and 9800 
of these were issued during the latter half of the nine- 
teenth century. The printing was for over a century 



INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 75 

carried on in the Clarendon Building in Broad Street, 
which was erected out of the profits of Lord Clarendon's 
History of the Rebellion. 

Next to the printing of books comes their clothing 
and binding, and this industry was carried on in Oxford 
long before types and printing presses were invented. 
One Laurencius was a bookbinder at Oxford at the end 




Room in the Bodleian Library 



of the twelfth century, and since that time the names of 
many binders appear in the city records. When Thomas 
Bodley founded the famous Bodleian Library, in the first 
year of James I, there was an enormous increase in the 
trade, and it has since flourished in the hands of many 
distinguished and accomplished binders. Another branch 
of book production is the trade of parchment and paper 



1^ 



OXFORDSHIRE 



making. One Reginald, a parchment maker, lived at 
Oxford at the close of the twelfth century, when Lauren- 
cius was binding books. These tradesmen, with others 
of their calling, lived in Cat Street, at a time when the 
members of a particular calling always were required to 
reside in a certain row or street. Parchment-making 




Wolvercote Paper Mills 



flourished until the end of the sixteenth century, and then 
the making of paper began. Several mills for making 
paper have existed in the county and still carry on their 
trade. The most famous is that at Wolvercote, started 
in 1666, which continues to produce some of the best 
paper in England, and is now owned by the University 
Press. Another mill exists at Eynsham, where leather 



INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 11 

boards are now made. Sandford mill, once a corn mill, 
has a long history, and produced coloured papers. The 
Weirs mill near Oxford, and several near Henley, have 
also contributed to this industry. 

Cloth-weaving existed at Witney as early as 969, and 
at Oxford in 1 130. At least these are the earliest records. 
Burford, Chipping Norton, and Banbury, as well as 
Oxford, were flourishing centres of the industry in the 
sixteenth century. William Stumpe, who converted 
Malmesbury Abbey into a cloth factory, wished to do 
the same with Osney Abbey, but owing to the conditions 
required by the corporation, his scheme was abandoned. 
In the eighteenth century the trade of the weavers flour- 
ished, and in many of the villages hand-loom weaving was 
carried on. 

Banbury was chiefly famous for making worsted plush, 
and still carries on that trade. Web and girth-making are 
also carried on there. 

Horse-cloths are still made at Chipping Norton, but 
modern methods with the use of coal and steam have 
silenced the looms of Oxfordshire, and transferred the 
trade to the manufacturing districts of Yorkshire and 
Lancashire. The weaving of silk stockings, and silk- 
" throwing " or winding, was carried on in the county 
at Oxford, Banbury, and Henley, but this too has vanished. 
On the borders of Buckinghamshire lace is made in many 
cottages, the industry having improved from .the revival 
which has taken place in recent years. 

The leather-trade once flourished in many parts of 
the county, and Burford was famous for its saddles. 



78 



OXFORDSHIRE 



On two occasions it had the honour of presenting 
specimens of the skill of its saddlers to royalty — on the 
visit of Charles II to the town in 1681, and that of 




Cake Shop, Banbury 

William III in 1695. Gloves are made at Woodstock 
and the industry is very ancient, having certainly existed 
in Saxon times. 



80 OXFORDSHIRE 

Malting and brewing have flourished in several 
Oxfordshire towns and the industry is still widely carried 
on, as is also the manufacture of tiles and bricks. 

The requirements of modern agriculture have created 
the extensive industry of making agricultural machines 
for which Banbury is famous, and there are large works 
at Cowley. Bell-founding still exists at Burford, where 
in the church there is a Bell-founders' Aisle, and where, 
in the reign of Charles I, Henry Neale was a celebrated 
founder. Oxford and Woodstock also contributed their 
share to the bells of the county. 

The presence of the great river naturally has brought 
into existence the industry of boat-building. Old barges 
were made in former days, and now the names of Salter 
and Clasper are famous all the world over for their 
splendid racing craft, as well as for their motor, electric, 
and steam launches. Boats are also built at Goring, 
Shiplake, and Henley. 

Chairs are made largely at Stokenchurch, which was 
formerly in the county, and also at Chinnor, Watlington, 
and Caversham. Banbury is still famous for its cakes, 
which can claim a very respectable antiquity, as they 
were in favour in the time of Queen Elizabeth ; and 
formerly it was noted for its cheese, the fame of which 
has now vanished. 



A SPECIAL INDUSTRY 81 



12. A Special Industry — Witney 
Blankets. 

There is one manufacture for which Oxfordshire is 
especially noted, and that is the making of blankets. All 
the world knows of Witney blankets and some account 
of the industry is necessary here. It is certainly ancient. 
Even before the Norman Conquest the wool trade was 
carried on at Witney. The river Windrush afforded 
excellent water for cleansing the wool, the Cotswold 
sheep supplied rich fleeces in abundance, and Witney 
possessed every advantage for the trade. But who first 
invented blankets ? A story is told of one Thomas 
Blanket of Bristol, who is said in 1320 to have discovered 
the process of making these most useful coverings, and 
gave his name to the material he invented. That story 
may be true, and it may not. It was probably invented 
to account for the use of the word, which is really derived 
from the French blanchet (a white thing) and was in use 
in England in the time of Henry II. We do not hear 
much of Witney blankets before the reign of James I, 
though the woollen industry had prospered there for a 
long time. But after that period the trade in blanket- 
making grew and prospered greatly, Witney blankets 
finding their way to all parts of England and even to the 
natives of Africa. The Wenman, Early, and Brookes 
families were the chief manufacturers in the sixteenth 
and seventeenth centuries. In 17 10 the Witney mer- 
chants gained a royal charter, granted to the Company 
D. o. 6 



A SPECIAL INDUSTRY 83 

of Blanket-weavers. They built themselves a Hall, 
called Blanket Hall, and quarrelled much among them- 
selves over by-law^s and agreements. At the beginning 
of the nineteenth century the trade w^as very prosperous. 
Three thousand hands w^ere employed ; Kersey-pieces, 
bear-skins, and blankets were exported to America, Spain, 
and Portugal. Machinery was introduced and added 
greatly to the output. Almost 93,000 blankets were 
made every year. 

The fame of the Witney blankets continues and the 
trade is very prosperous. Eight hundred hands are 
employed and 250 looms. Wools are brought to the 
factories not only from England, but also from Australia, 
New Zealand, India, and other countries. This wool 
has to pass through many processes before it becomes 
a blanket. The wools are first blended together, and then 
passed through various machines called willeys, teazers, 
scribblers, and corders, which break up the wool and 
reduce it to a condition such that it can be wound on 
bobbins. Then the threads are stretched and twisted 
on the spinning mule, and are ready for weaving. When 
woven the material goes to the fulling mill and is beaten 
by heavy hammers. After that it is washed and dried 
and bleached and stretched, and last of all the fibres of 
the wool are drawn out from the surface of the cloth by a 
machine. And thus we get our Witney blankets. 



6—2 



84 OXFORDSHIRE 



13. Quarries and Minerals. 

With the exception of the iron ore, which is found in 
the northern district, an account of which has already been 
given, there are no important minerals in Oxfordshire. 
But its stone quarries are numerous and have had a great 
history. All the beautiful colleges of Oxford and the 
noble churches that abound in the county, are built of 
local stone taken from these quarries. It is not possible 
that the founders of Oxford University selected its site 
on the Thames because they were aware of the masses of 
stone which the neighbouring hills afforded; nor did they 
anticipate the erection of such beautiful and extensive 
college buildings as subsequently arose. But they were 
certainly fortunate in their choice. The county has 
numerous quarries of freestone, limestone is abundant, 
and slate can be obtained in several places. 

In Anglo-Saxon times some of the stone was quarried. 
The tower of St Michael's Church, Oxford, is con- 
structed of stone from the quarry at Chilswell. So also 
are the remains of Norman work in the city. Teynton 
stone was also used in early times. Headington and 
Taynton quarries supplied all the stone for the fifteenth 
century colleges and for Thame Church, and the Burford 
and Holton quarries supplied their share for Oxford 
needs. Handborough and Woodstock opened quarries 
in the seventeenth century and Stonesfield supplied slates. 
The stone for rebuilding St Paul's Cathedral is said to 
have been brought from Burford. This latter is harder 



QUARRIES AND MINERALS 85 

and whiter than the stone of Headington, which is liable 
to decay and to the influence of the weather. Other 
quarries existed at Bladon, Little Milton, Barford, and 
Hornton. Blenheim Palace was built for the most part 
of Taynton stone. Some coarse marble is found near 
Banbury and in Wychwood Forest. It has been found 
necessary to reface parts of the walls of the colleges 
owing to the decay of the Headington stone, and the 
Milton quarries have supplied most of the material for 
this work. There are still about 40 quarries in the 
county, but only about 130 quarrymen. People now 
prefer to make their houses of cheap bricks, and do not 
care to build so surely and so well as our ancestors. 
Hence the quarries are neglected and the industry is 
decayed. 

Brickmaking flourishes, and there is an abundance 
of clay in the county. Kilns and brickworks exist near 
Oxford, especially at Wolvercote and Summertown, also 
near Bicester, at Finmere, Goring, Long Handborough, 
Caversham, Nettlebed, Wheatley, Culham, Banbury and 
elsewhere. The clay at Shotover was used for making 
tobacco-pipes for the King's soldiers when they were 
quartered at Oxford during the Civil War. 

There are plenty of gravel-pits, especially near the 
course of the Thames and on the southern slopes of 
the Chiltern Hills. Flints picked from the surface of 
the fields on the Chilterns furnish excellent m"aterial for 
road-making when the traffic is not too heavy. 



86 OXFORDSHIRE 

14. History of the County. 

On the coming of the Romans, Caesar could not 
penetrate the forests of Oxfordshire, and it was left to 
Aulus Plautius nearly a century later to receive the 
submission of the Dobuni. After the departure of the 
Roman legions the Anglo-Saxons came to Britain, and 
about the middle of the sixth century they found their 
way to Oxfordshire. After taking Silchester they fought 
with the Britons in 556 at Beranbyrig, probably Barbury, 
with only partial success. Cuthwulf and his West Saxons 
in 571 took Bensington, Aylesbury, and Eynsham, and 
eventually overran the country. A long period of 
anarchy ensued. The West Saxons advancing from the 
south were confronted with the Mercians coming from 
the north, and the records of six centuries tell of little but 
constant fighting between this opposing power and their 
constant enemy, the Danes. Wulf here. King of Mercia, 
invaded Berkshire and took possession of its northern part. 
In 752 Cuthred of Wessex crossed the Thames, fought 
Ethelbald of Mercia at Burford, and conquered the 
country. " Battle Edge," near Burford, marks the site 
of the battle, which was commemorated as late as the 
eighteenth century by a feast and a procession, when the 
figures of a dragon and a giant were carried through the 
streets. 

OfFa of Mercia reconquered his lost possessions by 
winning the battle of Bensington in 777 a.d. But 
Egbert of Wessex established his sway over Oxfordshire 
in 827. 



HISTORY OF THE COUNTY 



87 



Christianity came to the West Saxons by means of 
St Birinus, who converted Cynegils, King of Wessex, 
preaching to him at Churn Knob on the Berkshire 
downs. Oswald, the Christian King of Northumbria, 
was with him, and Cynegils was baptised at Dorchester, 




Dorchester Church 



which was given to St Birinus as the seat of his bishopric. 
This little Oxfordshire town became the episcopal seat of 
a diocese extending from the Thames to th.e Humber. 
The name of the first bishop still survives in Berin's Hill 
on the Chilterns. 

Oxfordshire suffered severely from the Danes. In 



88 OXFORDSHIRE 

914 they plundered as far as Hook Norton, and destroyed 
many towns and villages. Edward the Elder checked 
their ravages. Kirtlington was the scene of a great 
council in 977. When the Danes renewed their ravages 
Ethelred the Unready tried to buy them off, and then on 
St Brice's Day, November 13, 1002, ordered their massacre 
at Oxford. In revenge they ravaged the country and burnt 
Oxford. The Saxon kings had three palaces in the shire, 
Woodstock, Headington, and Islip. Gemots were held 
in Oxford in 1018 and 1036, and it was there Harold 
died. Edward the Confessor was born at Islip, which he 
gave to the monks of Westminster. 

After the Norman Conquest, Robert D'Oilly was 
the most important person in the shire ; he married the 
heiress of Wigod, lord of Wallingford, and held 50 
manors in the county. He was ordered to build a castle 
at Oxford. Castles were built during Stephen's reign at 
14 places, and the extensive forests invited the Norman 
kings to hunt the deer. Henry I had a hunting lodge at 
Woodstock, and built the palace of Beaumont just outside 
Oxford. The civil war of Stephen's reign raged in the 
county. The castles of Oxford, Woodstock, and Bampton 
were held by the Empress Maud, who was besieged and 
hard pressed at Oxford, and escaped by night along the 
frozen Thames dressed in white, finding safety in the 
fortress of Wallingford. A council at Oxford in 1153 
ended the war. 

Henry II destroyed several of the castles erected in 
the reign of his predecessor. Woodstock was famous for 
the story of Fair Rosamond, who was buried at Godstow, 




Minster Lovell 



90 OXFORDSHIRE 

and at Woodstock first arose the storm that raged between 
Archbishop Becket and the King. 

Richard I and John were both Oxfordshire men, the 
former having been born at the palace of Beaumont, 
the latter at Woodstock. Many parliaments and councils 
were held at Oxford, and there the "Provisions of Oxford" 
were drawn up in 1258, which rank with Magna Charta 
as the safeguard of English liberty. A notable figure in 
the history of the county in the thirteenth century was 
Richard, King of the Romans, who had a palace at 
Beckley. Piers Gaveston was imprisoned at Deddington 
Castle just before his death at the hands of the " Black 
Dog," Earl of Warwick. 

Fighting took place at Radcot Bridge in 1387, when 
Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, a favourite of Richard II, 
fought against the forces of the Earl of Gloucester and 
Derby. At Oxford in 1400 a conspiracy was made to 
murder King Henry IV at a tournament and to proclaim 
a certain priest of Magdalen College dressed in royal robes 
as Richard II returned to life. The conspiracy failed and 
many noble heads fell. 

The Wars of the Roses affected the life of the county. 
Romance states that in Wychwood Forest Edward IV 
first saw and loved Elizabeth Woodville. The battle of 
Danesmoor, near Banbury, was fought in this reign 
between an army of insurgents from the north and the 
royal forces led by the Earl of Pembroke. The insurgents 
won, and beheaded the Earl and other leaders at Banbury. 
The fall of Richard III sealed the fate of several Oxfordshire 
families, and amongst them the Lovells of Minster Lovell. 




The Reredos, All Souls' Chapel 



92 



OXFORDSHIRE 



Many changes took place during the period of the 
Reformation. The ecclesiastical architecture of Oxford 
suffered at the hands of the image-breakers, and it was not 
until the last century that the plaster was removed from 
the reredos of All Souls' and the figures restored to their 
present condition. With the spoils of the monasteries 





Balliol College and the Martyrs' Memorial 

Henry VHI founded six bishoprics, of which Oxford was 
one. The Oxfordshire rustics revolted on account of the 
introduction of the new Prayer Book, and an army of 
1500 men was sent against them. Ridley, Latimer, and 
Cranmer were burnt at Oxford in Mary's reign. Princess 
Elizabeth during the reign of Mary was a prisoner at 
Rycote and Woodstock. The Queen's favourite, the 



HISTORY OF THE COUNTY 93 

Earl of Leicester, died at Cornbury. There were several 
families of Recusants^ in the county, and amongst them 
the Stonors of Stonor Park, who sheltered Campion 
the Jesuit and allowed him to set up a secret printing 
press. 

Oxfordshire played an important part in the Civil 
War, for Oxford was the royalist headquarters. Battles 
were fought at Cropredy and Chalgrove, and at Edgehill, 
just beyond the borders of the county. The castle of 
Banbury was a great centre of fighting, and the country 
around was pillaged by both belligerents. A little room 
at Broughton Castle, the seat of Lord Saye and Sele — 
" Old Subtlety " — is pointed out as the birthplace of the 
rebellion. The whole county was a battle-field, and 
skirmishes took place everywhere. The havoc wrought 
by the war was terrible. Towns were pillaged, old houses 
destroyed, Banbury Castle pulled down, and desolation 
reigned. 

The rebellion of the Levellers troubled the Common- 
wealth, and Cromwell took stern measures at Burford to 
crush the insurrection, three of the leaders being shot 
in the churchyard. The marks of the bullets on the 
churchyard wall and the name "Anthonye Sedley 1649, 
prisner," cut on the lead font in the church wherein the 
Levellers were confined are still to be seen. 

When the Plague broke out in London, Charles H 
repaired to Oxford. Parliament met ther^ in 1681. 

^ A Recusant was one who adhered to the Roman Catholic religion and 
refused to accept the Acts of Uniformity passed under Elizabeth and 
succeeding sovereigns. 



94 



OXFORDSHIRE 



The efforts of James II to Romanise the University met 
with the stubborn defence of the Fellows of Magdalen. 
The city sympathised with the fallen house of Stuart, and 
Wesley said it was " paved with the skulls of Jacobites." 
The squires of the county meditated joining the rising of 




Blenheim Palace 



1745, and the Pretender is said to have visited Lord 
Cornbury and to have been shaved by a barber of 
Charlbury. 

Blenheim Palace was given by a grateful nation to 
the hero of many fights, the great Duke of Marlborough. 
With the dying flickers of the flame of Jacobitism and 



HISTORY OF THE COUNTY 95 

the honour bestowed upon a famous general, the connec- 
tion of Oxfordshire with the annals of England may be 
said to have ceased. 



15. Antiquities — Prehistoric, Roman, 
Saxon. 

The prehistoric period of Britain may be divided 
into four periods: (i) the Palaeolithic or Old Stone Age ; 
(2) the Neolithic or New Stone Age, between which 
periods in England a great gap of time existed ; (3) the 
Bronze Age ; (4) the Iron Age. The people who dwelt in 
these periods have all left traces behind them. In the old 
history books the story of Britain began with the landing 
of Julius Caesar, B.C. 55 ; but the discoveries of the last 
half century, the finding and classification of the weapons 
and tools of flint or bronze, the exploration of barrows, 
lake-dwellings, earthworks, and cromlechs, have pushed 
back our historical horizon and enabled us to know the 
manner of life of the tribes and races who dwelt in Britain 
centuries before the Roman invasion. 

The traces of Palaeolithic man, who lived mainly 
if not entirely in the more southern part of our land, are 
very numerous, and he evidently exercised great skill in 
bringing his implements to a symmetrical shape by 
chipping. Stone, wood, and bone were his only materials. 
He Hved here during the period when this country was 
united with the continent, and when the huge mammoth 
roamed in the wild forests, and powerful and fierce 



96 OXFORDSHIRE 

animals struggled for existence in the hills and vales of 
a cold and inclement country. His weapons and tools 
were of the rudest description, and made of chipped flint. 
Eighty or ninety feet above the present level of the 
Thames at Caversham, in the higher gravels, are these 
relics found, and they are so abundant that the race must 
have been fairly numerous. The shape of the weapons 
is usually oval, and often pointed into a rude resemblance 
of the shape of a spear-head. Some flint-flakes are of the 
knife-like character ; others resemble awls or borers with 
sharp points, evidently for making holes in skins for the 
purpose of constructing a garment. Hammer-stones for 
crushing bones, tools with well-wrought flat edges, 
scrapers, and other implements, were the stock-in-trade 
of the earliest inhabitants of our country, and are distin- 
guishable from those used by Neolithic man by their 
larger and rougher work. An interesting find was made 
at Caversham — the bones of a mammoth surrounded by 
a large number of flint weapons, showing that their 
owners had attacked and killed the monster with these 
primitive weapons. During this time, the elk and rein- 
deer, the gigantic Irish deer, bison, elephant, rhinoceros, 
hippopotamus, lion, bear and other creatures roamed this 
country-side. 

After a lengthy period of geological change, Neolithic 
man appeared, probably peopling the country from the 
south and east, a much more civilised person than his 
predecessor and presenting a higher type of humanity. 
He had a peculiarly shaped head, the back part of the 
skull being much prolonged, and from this feature he is 



ANTIQUITIES 



97 



called dolichocephalic. He discovered that flints that were 
dug up were much more easily fashioned than those which 
lay on the surface of the ground. He polished his 
weapons and fashioned finely wrought arrow-heads and 





I. Palaeolithic and 2. Neolithic Implements 

javelin-points. He made pit-huts to dwell in, cultivated 
the ground, and had domestic animals. The long barrows 
or mounds, the length of which is greater than the 
breadth, contain his remains. We find such long barrows 
at Lyneham and in Slatepits Copse in Wychwood Forest. 
D. o. 7 



98 



OXFORDSHIRE 



Another wave of invaders swept over the island and 
conquered the Neolithic race. These were the Celtic 
people, taller and stronger than their predecessors, and 
distinguished by their fair hair and rounded skulls. From 
the shape of their heads they are called hr achy cephalic^ 
or short-headed, and are believed to have belonged to the 
original Aryan race, whose birthplace was Southern Asia. 




The Rollright Stone Circle 



Their weapons were made of bronze, although they used 
polished stone implements also. As they became more 
civilised they discovered the use of iron, of which they 
fashioned axe-heads. Their remains lie in the round 
barrows, of which there are no less than 37 in the 
county. 

The Rollright stone circle, which stands just on the 
county boundary about half a mile north-north-east of 



ANTIQUITIES 99 

Little Rollright, is the most important megalithic monu- 
ment in Oxfordshire, and has been described as the second 
wonder of the realm — second, that is, to Stonehenge. It 
has been used as a quarry and many stones have dis- 
appeared, but we can still easily trace the circle. Near 
it stands the " King's Stone " and, not far off, others 
called the Whispering Knights. A legend states that a 
chieftain, relying on an old prophecy which stated that 
if he could once see Long Compton he would be King 
of England, marched his army in that direction. While 
he was repeating the words 

" If Long Compton I can see 
King of England I shall be," 

Mother Shipton appeared and pronounced the spell, 

*' Move no more : stand fast stone ; 
King of England thou shalt be none." 

The whole company were then turned into stone. The 
solitary stone is the King, the circle his army and the 
Whispering Knights are some conspirators who were 
plotting against the King. This is the story. But, of 
course, the real object of circles such as this and Stone- 
henge was either monumental, or ritual. Dolmens or 
table-stones, which were sometimes covered with earth, 
were undoubtedly sepulchral. There is a fine example 
of these, called the Hoar Stone, at Enstone. Sometimes 
single stones were erected, such as the Hawk Stone and 
Thor Stone, also near Enstone. Frethelestone has been 
broken up, but we have the Devil's Quoits, near Stanton 
Harcourt, once a circle of stones. Popular tradition 

7—2 



100 



OXFORDSHIRE 



states that the Devil once played quoits with a beggar 
for his soul and won by flinging these great stones. All 
these stone monuments were probably raised by the 
Bronze Age people, and were for the object of marking 




Rollright Circle: the King's Stone 



the graves of illustrious chiefs. Avebury and Rollright, 
made of undressed stones, are more ancient than Stone- 
henge, which has immense trilithons, or stones arranged 
in the shape of a doorway. It is not improbable that the 
Rollright circle was formed as much as twenty centuries 



ANTIQUITIES 101 

before Christ. The reHcs of prehistoric man have been 
found in all parts of the county, and his burial mounds 
abound all over the portion west of the Cherwell. 

Great attention has been paid in recent years to the 
study of earthworks, camps, and fortifications. These 
have now been grouped for description on a regular and 
scientific basis. The district of the county west of the 
Cherwell contains most of the early earthworks, which 
cluster most in the north-west of this part. Madmarston, 
Tadmarton, Idbury, Lyneham, and Chastleton belong to 
the Cotswold series. There are several lines of entrench- 
ments in England, usually called dykes, and three of 
them exist in Oxfordshire. There is Grim's Ditch, or 
Grimes Dyke, on the north of Akeman Street, another 
Grim's Ditch in the south of the county between Monge- 
well and Henley, 1 1 miles in length, with " Madder's 
Bank," near it and parallel to it, some 14 miles in 
length. There is yet another entrenchment — called by 
various names, Aveditch or Avesditch, Ashbank, and 
Wattlebank — extending from where the Akeman Street 
crosses the Cherwell to the northern boundary of the 
county at Souldern. Although the point is still undecided 
it is conjectured that these were of Roman construction, 
the northern ones made to defend the Akeman Street, 
the southern one to protect the Icknield Way, this latter 
being an old British track-way, afterwards used by the 
Romans. Finally, mention of the British village which 
exists at Standlake must not be omitted. This was 
discovered in 1857, when thirteen hut-circles were ex- 
plored, and many of the objects obtained placed in the 



102 OXFORDSHIRE 

Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. No remains of the 
hut-circles are now visible. 

The county was not so thoroughly colonised by the 
Romans as some other parts of England. Perhaps the 
dense forests prevented them. Roman stations existed at 
Alchester and Dorchester, but the county was dotted over 
with Roman villas, some of them the finest in England. 
Stonesfield, Northleigh, Beckley, Wheatley, Fringford, 
Middleton Stoney, and Woodperry possessed good examples 
of the residences of noble Romans of which little now 
remains to be seen. 

Saxon remains are by no means rare. In the barrow at 
Lyneham there were the remains of a Saxon burial, with 
javelins, knife, and the umbo or boss of a Saxon shield. 



i6. Architecture — (a) Ecclesiastical. 

A preliminary word on the various styles of English 
architecture is necessary before we consider the churches 
and other important buildings of our county. 

Pre-Norman or, as it is usually, though with no great 
certainty termed, Saxon building in England, was the 
work of early craftsmen with an imperfect knowledge of 
stone construction, who commonly used rough rubble 
walls, no buttresses, small semicircular or triangular 
arches, and square towers with what is termed " long- 
and-short work" at the quoins or corners. It survives 
almost solely in portions of small churches. 

The Norman Conquest started a widespread building 



ARCHITECTURE— ECCLESIASTICAL 103 

of massive churches and castles in the continental style 
called Romanesque, which in England has got the name 
of " Norman." They had walls of great thickness, semi- 
circular vaults, round-headed doors and windows, and 
massive square towers. 

From 1 1 50 to 1200 the building became lighter, the 
arches pointed, and there was perfected the science of 
vaulting, by which the weight is brought upon piers and 
buttresses. This method of building, the " Gothic," 
originated from the endeavour to cover the widest and 
loftiest areas with the greatest economy of stone. The 
first English Gothic, called " Early English," from about 
1 180 to 1250, is characterised by slender piers (commonly 
of marble), lofty pointed vaults, and long, narrow, lancet- 
headed windows. After 1250 the windows became 
broader, divided up, and ornamented by patterns of 
tracery, while in the vault the ribs were multiplied. The 
greatest elegance of English Gothic was reached from 
1260 to 1290, at which date English sculpture was at 
its highest, and art in painting, coloured glass making, 
and general craftsmanship at its zenith. 

After 1300 the structure of stone buildings began to 
be overlaid with ornament, the window tracery and vault 
ribs were of intricate patterns, the pinnacles and spires 
loaded with crocket and ornament. This later style is 
known as " Decorated," and came to an end with the 
Black Death, which stopped all building for a time. 

With the changed- conditions of life the type of 
building changed. With curious uniformity and quick- 
ness the style called "Perpendicular" — which is unknown 



104 OXFORDSHIRE 

abroad — developed after 1360 in all parts of England and 
lasted with scarcely any change up to 1520. As its name 
implies, it is characterised by the perpendicular arrange- 
ment of the tracery and panels on walls and in windows, 
and it is also distinguished by the flattened arches and the 
square arrangement of the mouldings over them, by the 
elaborate vault-traceries (especially fan-vaulting), and by 
the use of flat roofs and towers without spires. 

The medieval styles in England ended with the 
dissolution of the monasteries (i 530-1 540), for the 
Reformation checked the building of churches. There 
succeeded the building of manor houses, in which the 
style called "Tudor" arose — distinguished by flat-headed 
windows, level ceilings, and panelled rooms. The orna- 
ments of classic style were introduced under the influences 
of Renaissance sculpture and distinguish the " Jacobean " 
style, so called after James I. A fine example of this 
is seen in the second quadrangle of St John's College. 
About this time the professional architect arose. Hitherto, 
building had been entirely in the hands of the builder 
and the craftsman. 

Although the churches of Oxfordshire are not equal 
in size and beauty to those of Northamptonshire or the 
Fenland, no county can claim to possess a series of 
churches of greater general interest and special architec- 
tural excellence than that which is here described. With 
very few exceptions the churches are of mixed styles. The 
first Norman lord or Saxon thane beo;an to build a small 
church on his estate suitable for the needs of his tenants 
and labourers ; and at successive periods, owing to the 



106 OXFORDSHIRE 

wealth and piety of the lord of the manor, or the zeal 
of the people, these have been enlarged and renewed ; 
hence we often notice in the same structures examples of 
all the styles which have been in vogue in this country. 



Pre-Norman Period. 

In spite, however, of these waves of building enthu- 
siasm which have passed over the country it is possible 
to discover some of the work of the early masons who 
were rearing churches before the advent of the Normans. 
One of the earliest churches in Oxfordshire must have 
been the minster of St Frideswide's convent. This was 
almost entirely destroyed on St Brice's Day, I002 a.d., 
when the Danes took refuge therein and were burnt with 
it. It seems to have been of timber, and was rebuilt in 
stone; and in recent years various remains of this struc- 
ture have been discovered in the east wall of the north 
choir aisle of Christ Church Cathedral, formerly the 
church of St Frideswide's monastery, constructed during 
the period of transition from Norman to Early English. 
This Saxon work consists of very rude and early masonry 
with wide jointing, while outside have been discovered 
the foundations of two apses which formed the eastern 
termination of the earlier church. Other pre-Norman 
work can be seen in the tower of St Michael's church, 
Oxford, which shows the distinguishing long-and-short 
work at the angles, and the deeply splayed belfry openings 
with massive baluster shafts, all typical of the period. 
Similar signs of Saxon masonry exist in the towers of 





St Michael's Church, Oxford 



108 OXFORDSHIRE 

Northleigh and Caversfield, and at Bicester there is a 
triangular-headed arch of the same early date. Herring- 
bone work, usually considered a sign of Saxon building, 
exists in the beautiful church at Bampton. An early 
window, splayed both ways, is at Swalcliffe, and the 
churches of Swyncombe, Langford, Broughton Poggs, and 
Aston Rowant show signs of Saxon work. 

Norman Period. 

With the advent of William the Conqueror and his 
followers an era of vigorous church-building commenced. 
Robert D'Oilly set the example in Oxford, erecting the 
church of St Mary Magdalen outside the city wall, and 
possibly that of St Cross at Holywell, the chancel arch of 
which is early in character. Nothing of his work remains 
in the former church. The Norman lords who received 
grants of estates in the county proceeded to build stone 
churches where formerly wooden structures existed. Very 
numerous are the examples of this solemn and impressive 
style, and indeed there are few churches which have no 
relics of this vigorous architectural period. 

Ot the early Norman period there are remains at 
Newnham Murren^, some windows in the chancel of 
Sandford St Mary, and the doorways at Ambrosden, 
Cowley, Wilcote, Stanton Harcourt, Crowmarsh GifiFard 

^ This church has been much restored, and injudicious "restoration" 
often destroys the early features of buildings. The Norman work was done 
by some of the monks of Bee Abbey in Normandy who were brought over 
by Milo Crispin, lord of Wallingford, to build churches at North Stoke, 
Ipsden, and Newnham 5 but little of their work remains. 



ARCHITECTURE— ECCLESIASTICAL 109 

and Handborough. The tympanum, or semicircular 
stone-work between the top of the door and the arch, 
was often carved with elaborate sculptured devices. At 
Handborough there is a representation of St Peter seated 
with a key, his emblem, on one side and the Agnus Dei 
with a scroll on the other, the subject depicting St Peter 
dictating the Gospel to St Mark. At Kencott Sagittarius 
is shooting an arrow into the mouth of a dragon; at 
Salford Sagittarius and Leo are guarding a Maltese cross ; 
at Black Bourton and at South Leigh a simple cross is 
carved. The semicircular apse at Checkendon and the 
narrow tower arches at Cassington are also of this early 
date. The Norman builders tried to introduce apsidal 
chancels, but the English never liked them ; hence many 
of these apsidal terminations of churches were altered 
subsequently, and square ended chancels built in their 
stead. 

Of the later Norman period the well-known church 
at Iffley is one of the finest in the kingdom. The two 
fine tower arches and the three noble doorways are 
marvels of the sculptors' art of about the year 1160. 
Here, as also at Great Barford, Burford, Great RoUright, 
Asthall, and St Ebbe's and St Peter's-in-the-East, Oxford, 
are rows of beak-heads, which are supposed to mean the 
birds of the air in the Parable of the Sower ready to pluck 
away the good seed sown in the hearts of careless reci- 
pients. Somewhat similar to the Iffley door are those of 
the Chapter House, Christ Church Cathedral, and Wood- 
stock. Immense labour and skill were bestowed on these 
doorways, which have been often preserved with care in 



r 



\ 




■Si^B'Kmi^, 




:ffley Church, West Front 



ARCHITECTURE— ECCLESIASTIC AL 1 1 1 

spite of subsequent alterations. We cannot record all 
the examples, but will mention the richly sculptured 
tympana at Newton Purcell, Great Rollright, Fritwell, 
Shirburn, and Bloxham. The Norman builders further 
ornamented these sculptures with colour, traces of which 
can still be seen at Shilton, Pyrton, and Brize Norton. 

Architects and builders have always been striving after 
" a more excellent way," seeking for new ideas and new 
beauties in their art. About the year 1175 they began 
to improve their methods, seeking to copy nature and not 
contenting themselves with quaint and curious Roman- 
esque detail. This led to what is known as the transitional 
Norman style which developed into the Early English. 
Of this period the best example is Christ Church Cathe- 
dral, then the minster church of St Frideswide's monastery. 
Prior Guymond began the work in Norman times, but as 
the work progressed the style became lighter and more 
graceful. The massive pillars of the arcades, alternately 
round and octagonal, are Norman ; the higher clerestory 
windows transitional. The roof was added in the six- 
teenth century, probably by Cardinal Wolsey when he 
began to convert the church into the chapel of his college. 
He was very ruthless in destroying parts of the minster and 
of the monastic buildmgs. The monks required a great 
church for their services, a cloister wherein they did their 
work, transcribing manuscripts, writing and illuminating 
books, a chapter house for their meetings, a dormitory, 
and a refectory. Wolsey cut down a large portion of 
the west end of the church, all one side of the cloister, 
and much else to make room for his college buildings. 



112 OXFORDSHIRE 

Transitional Norman work exists at Cuddesdon, Binsey, 
Fringford, Enstone, and Broadwell, where there are semi- 
circular headed doorways. A characteristic feature of 
Early English work is the pointed arch. There is one 
at Holton, but the carvings that adorn it are all Norman, 
showing that it belongs to this period of transition. Other 
examples can be seen at JCelmscott, Bampton, Swalcliffe, 
Bucknell, the north porch at Witney, and the west door- 
way at Shipton-under-Wychwood. 

Some curious Norman fonts exist. At Hook Norton 
the font is carved with figures of Adam and Eve, Sagit- 
tarius, and various animals; and others are at Albury, 
Berwick Salome, Lewknor and other churches. Several 
Norman lead fonts remain, such as those at Broadwell, 
Cokethorpe, Warborough, and Dorchester, which has 
figures of our Lord and the Apostles under round-headed 
arches. Churches often contain other details, such as 
piscinae, wherein the vessels used in Holy Communion 
were cleansed, stoups for holy water near the entrance, 
sedilia (seats for the clergy), aumbrys or cupboards 
wherein the treasures of the church were kept. Many 
of them are of Norman date. 



Early English Period, 

At length the English builders found their way to 
the new style of Gothic architecture, boldly attempted 
the pointed arch, and sought in nature models for their 
sculpture. We have numerous examples of this style in 
our county. The beautiful spire of the Cathedral, that 




D. O. 



114 OXFORDSHIRE 

at Witney together with most of the church (i200 a.d.), 
the Chapter House at Oxford (all the eastern portion) 
with its delicate lancet windows, the chancel and tran- 
septs of Stanton Harcourt with rows of lancets, are all 
in this style. The thirteenth century was the " golden 
age of churchmen," and foremost amongst them was 
Bishop Robert Grosseteste of Lincoln, in whose diocese 
Oxford then was. He was a great builder and his work 
remains in the church and the chapel of the Prebendal 
House at Thame, where there is a fine east window of 
three lights, delicate detached and clustered shafts, and 
rich capitals. The church built by him, with its fine 
Early English arcades, was much added to in the four- 
teenth century ; the accounts of this work are still in 
existence, and a copy is in the writer's possession. An- 
other great church builder of the time was Richard, Earl 
of Cornwall, brother to Henry III, and king of the 
Roman Empire. His wealth was enormous and he loved 
to spend it in building churches. Many of the Oxford- 
shire churches owe their beauty to his bounty. His badges, 
the lion rampant crowned and the spread eagle, are found 
in many churches in stained glass and on tiles, as at Ipsden. 
Among other examples of the work of the period may be 
mentioned Tackley church with its eastern lancets, Wig- 
ginton, Kidlington, and Bucknell. North Stoke has an 
Early English spire, though the upper story is modern, 
and an ornate chancel of this period. This church must 
have been in decay in the fourteenth century when it was 
given to the convent of Bromhale, Berkshire, as the Bishop 
of Lincoln ordered the Prioress to restore it. Hence there 



ARCHITECTURE— ECCLESIASTICAL 115 

is much Decorated work of the date 1320. We find other 
examples of Early English work in the south aisle of Swal- 
cliffe (1250 A.D.), and in the doorways of Great Haseley, 
Great Milton, and Charlbury. 



Decorated Period. 

Most of the triumphs of art in the ecclesiastical archi- 
tecture in the county belong to the Decorated period. 
We have already noticed the affection which some of the 
Bishops of Lincoln retained for this distant corner of their 
huge diocese. This was shown by the building of the 
beautiful church at Banbury, mainly erected at the end 
of the thirteenth century. It cannot be seen now, as it 
was entirely pulled down in 1790 in order to save the 
expense of restoring it. One of the most interesting 
churches in the county is Dorchester Abbey Church, 
once the seat of the bishop, before it was transferred to 
Lincoln. In 1140 Bishop Alexander of Lincoln estab- 
lished here a priory of Austin Canons, and the minster 
testifies to their skill as builders. The present building 
was soon commenced by them, but its chiefest glory is 
the work of the fourteenth century, the choir, south choir 
aisle, and south nave aisle. "The extreme splendour of 
the arches on each side of the choir must strike every 
one," wrote Professor Freeman. "They are the finest 
I know." He says again, "There is probably no existing 
building which shows a greater number of singularities 
crowded together in a small compass than the eastern 
bay." The great east window is most remarkable, and 

8-2 



116 OXFORDSHIRE 

still more the extraordinary Jesse window on the north. 
The Patriarch lies below and from his side springs his 
genealogical tree, carried up in the stone mullions and in 
stained glass. This church would require a volume for 
its full description. Going back to Oxford we there find 
the builders very busy. They were building Merton 
College Chapel, inserting windows in the Cathedral, and 
restoring many of the churches of the town. St Mary 
Magdalen's church, originally Norman, was rebuilt at 
this period. Owing to its position between two streets 
it could not be extended eastward or westward; hence 
all its expansion has been in the form of aisles on the 
north and south. The masons of this period were very 
fond of light and inserted many beautiful windows with 
elaborate tracery in many churches, such as Great Haseley, 
Great Milton, Bampton, Kidlington, and in the chancel 
of Piddington. One peculiar feature of the Oxfordshire 
churches in the northern part of the county and adjacent 
districts is the fringe or foliated canopy to the containing 
arches of the windows, such as at Broughton, Bampton, 
and Broadwell. 

Of later Decorated work, called sometimes curvilinear 
style, there is the beautiful Latin Chapel in the Cathedral, 
which is an architectural gem, and also the fine churches 
of Cropredy, Broughton, and Chinnor. The chancels of 
Merton, Chalgrove, Garsington, and Stanton St John, are 
almost entirely of this period, and the north transept at 
Witney and north aisle at Ducklington with its beautiful 
canopied tombs. The nave, tower, and spire of Adder- 
bury church, the spire of St Mary's, Oxford, with its 





St Mary's Church, Oxford 



118 OXFORDSHIRE 

profusion of ball-flower ornament, and the north aisle 
of SwalclifFe, said to have been designed by William of 
Wykeham, the great architect and bishop, the inventor 
of the Perpendicular architecture, before he had conceived 
that peculiar style, are all of this period. Many of the 
churches at that time were adorned with mural paintings, 
and attained to the height of their magnificence. They 
were a blaze of colour. But it would take too long a space 
to record all that time has spared. 

Perpendicular Style, 

Oxfordshire, as we have seen, is closely connected 
with the originator of this style, which is peculiar to 
England, the great architect. Bishop William of Wyke- 
ham, who remodelled Winchester Cathedral. As the 
founder of Winchester School and its associated college 
at Oxford, New College, he introduced his architectural 
ideas when building the chapel towards the end of the 
fourteenth century. 

He had other connections with the shire, having 
purchased Broughton Castle for his nephew. Sir Thomas 
Wykeham, upon which he exercised his skill in building, 
and designed the chancel of Adderbury church. The 
chapel of Magdalen College, the churches of Handborough, 
Chipping Norton, and Ewelme, and the font at Burford 
are also examples of the Perpendicular style. The church 
of Minster Lovell, cruciform and with central tower, was 
built by Lord Lovell in the time of Henry VI, with its 
fine founder's tomb and font, and Richard Quatremain 



120 



OXFORDSHIRE 



and Sibylla his wife in 1449 ^"^^^ ^^e curious Rycote 
chapel, which remains entirely unrestored. 



f 



v/^Jf 



*'4 




Burford Church 

At this time the clothiers and wool-merchants were 
very prosperous in the Cotswold district and spent their 



ARCHITECTURE— ECCLESIASTICAL 121 

wealth freely in the building or re-building of churches. 
Thus, the noble church of Burford was almost entirely 
re-edified. Especially noticeable are the upper part of 
the tower, the spire, the south porch with fan-traceried 
roof, and the font with carvings of saints and the Cruci- 
fixion. 

The monastic buildings have fared badly. They have 




Godstow Nunnery- 
left few remains. In the county there were five Bene- 
dictine houses, three Cistercian, seven houses of the 
Austin Rule, one Gilbertine priory, two alien priories, 
Coggs and Minster Lovell, a house of the Templars at 
Sandford and of the Hospitallers at Clanfield. Besides 
these there were five monastic colleges and several 
hospitals. Though not very rich and powerful abbeys 



122 OXFORDSHIRE 

and priories, they were fairly numerous. Godstow and 
Shipton-under-Wychwood are ruins. Some were con- 
verted into private houses, or made into farms, or entirely 
pulled down in order to make way for new structures. 
Studley and Bicester, Wroxton and Elvenden betray a 
few traces of their origin. The fine medieval hospital 
at Ewelme remains. 



R 



enaissance. 



During the sixteenth century English architecture 
began to be influenced by the Renaissance, as the revival 
of art in Italy was called. We find classical details 
gradually creeping into use in the Gothic designs during 
the Tudor, Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, but the 
great change was due to the genius of Inigo Jones who 
first mastered the spirit of the Renaissance architecture, 
and adapted it to English needs. This apparently entirely 
new idea of architecture was, as is so often the case 
with new ideas, only a return to a much older source of 
inspiration. For our Norman style had been developed 
through the French Romanesque and Byzantine styles, 
from the older Roman and Greek architecture. 

The tower of the Five Orders in the old University 
Schools, Oxford, illustrates the main features of Renaissance 
architecture. The five orders are Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, 
Corinthian, and Composite. 

It is curious, however, that at Oxford there was an 
after glow of Gothic architecture. In spite of the changes 
wrought elsewhere the masons at Oxford clung to their 




Tower of the Five Orders 




Christ Church: Staircase leading to the Hall 



ARCHITECTURE— ECCLESIASTICAL 125 

traditional methods, and wrought as their fathers had done 
before them. This is noticeable in the buildings of 
Wadham, in the fan-traceried roof of the entrance to the 
hall at Christ Church and elsewhere. 

The blending of Classic and Gothic forms is well seen 
in the chapel of Brasenose College (1666), attributed (but 
wrongly) to Wren, who with his pupil Hawksmoor de- 
signed Queen's College buildings and the chapel of Trinity 
College. The Bodleian Library, built in 1 602-1 636, is 
a fine example of Renaissance style described by Casaubon 
as "a work rather for a king than a private man." Many 
churches contain Renaissance details, porches and monu- 
ments. The noble monument to Sir Lawrence Tanfield 
in Burford church (1626) is a notable example. 



17. Architecture — {d) Military. Castles. 

We have already recorded many of the great earth- 
works and lines of defence in Oxfordshire which were 
thrown up in prehistoric times, and denominated '' cas- 
tles," but in this section we are concerned only with 
military strongholds built of stone. Some few remain, 
but most of those erected in troublous times have dis- 
appeared. 

The Normans when they came built many castles to 
overawe the conquered English folk. Their earliest 
castles were often simply fortified mounds with timber 
forts, but soon these wooden walls were replaced by 
stone. Robert D'Oilly was ordered to build such a castle 




Oxford Castle 



ARCHITECTURE— MILITARY 127 

at Oxford, where the great square keep — " four square to 
every wind that blew" — still watches over the city. 
The walls of these castles were very thick, and often 
50 feet high. A deep well supplied the inhabitants 
with water, and the keep was divided by several floors, 
access to which was gained by spiral stone steps laid in 
the thickness of the wall. A moat surrounded the whole 
castle, crossed by a drawbridge, protected on the side 
remote from the castle by a barbican. High walls with 
an embattled parapet surrounded the lower court, or 
outer bailey, which was entered by a gate defended by 
strong towers. In the lower court were the stables. 
Another strong gateway, flanked by towers, protected the 
inner court, where stood the keep, chapel, and barracks. 
Oxford Castle was built on a high artificial mound 
erected in Saxon times whereon stood the less formidable- 
looking fortified dwelling of English and Danish rulers. 
It has played a prominent part in the history of the city. 
Its strength and position made it of great importance, as 
it ranked with Windsor and Wallingford as the three 
principal guarding-places of the valley of the Upper 
Thames. It was not often the residence of the monarchs, 
who usually stayed at their neighbouring palace of 
Beaumont, or at Woodstock. During the Civil War 
of Stephen's reign it was held by the Empress Maud, 
who took it from Robert D'Oilly, nephew of the 
founder, and it endured a siege of eight weeks, when 
the food began to fail, but the Empress contrived to 
escape in the dramatic manner already described. It 
was doubtless within the castle walls that the Council 



128 OXFORDSHIRE 

was held in 1133 which settled the terms of peace, and 
numerous Parliaments assembled here. In the wars of 
the Barons in John's reign the castle was a valuable 
stronghold of the king and dominated the country-side. 
It was the headquarters of those barons who supported 
the young King Henry III, while Lewis the Dauphin 
and his followers took up their position at Cambridge. 
Little is known of the plan and building of Oxford 
Castle. All that is left is the keep, the piers of a Norman 
crypt, and a vaulted chamber containing a well. 

In Oxfordshire, as in other parts of England during 
the troublous times of Stephen's reign, several castles were 
erected by nobles and landowners which became dens of 
robbers for the pillaging of the country. Such castles, 
called adulterine^ were raised at Ardley (by the Earl of 
Chester), Swerford, Somerton, Chipping Norton, Mix- 
bury, Deddington, and Bampton. 

When Henry II came to the throne he ordered these 
castles to be destroyed and razed to the ground. Ardley, 
Swerford, and Somerton were pulled down, but the rest 
were spared. Swerford was probably built by Robert 
D'Oilly junior, nephew of the Conqueror's ally. "Castle 
Hill" still marks its site with its great mounds. The 
moat and earthworks of Ardley Castle remain, and 
Somerton Castle was built by one of the Arsic family 
of Coggs. 

Bishop Alexander of Lincoln built a fine castle at 
Banbury in 11 35, which has a notable history. It was 
the Oxfordshire residence of the Bishops of that see 
until the time of Edward VI. It played a great part 



ARCHITECTURE— MILITARY 129 

in the Civil War of the seventeenth century, and w^as of 
considerable strength. It w^as held at first by the governor 
Nathaniel Fiennes for the Parliament, but after the battle 
of Edgehill he yielded it to the Royalists without a strug- 
gle, and all through the v^^ar it was gallantly defended by 
the King's soldiers and proved a thorn in the side of the 
Parliamentarians. The inhabitants of the town and dis- 
trict favoured the latter, and were constantly pillaged to 
supply food for the garrisons of Oxford and Banbury. It 
was vigorously besieged in 1644 by Colonel John Fiennes 
and as gallantly defended by Sir William Compton, who 
returned this answer to a summons to surrender, "We 
keep this castle for his JVlajesty, and as long as one man 
is left alive in it we will you not to expect to have it 
delivered." 

The old church was the headquarters of the besiegers, 
who planted their cannon in the churchyard. The weary 
siege lasted thirteen weeks. Then a vigorous attack was 
made, many soldiers being slain, but the besiegers were 
driven back. The garrison was in sore straits as they 
had only two horses left for food. Two years later the 
attack was renewed when the royal cause had failed, and 
the castle being delivered up, was slighted and destroyed 
by the Roundheads. 

A castle was built by Gerard de Camville at Mid- 
dleton Stoney in the time of Stephen, whose cause he 
supported against the Empress Maud. His son Richard 
there mustered his adherents to accompany him to the 
Holy Land on the great crusade under Richard, the Lion 
Heart, but he never returned to see his home again. His 

D. o. 9 



130 OXFORDSHIRE 

son Gerard succeeded and held the castle for Richard's 
enemy. John. On King Richard's return he was only 
allowed to retain his castle after paying 2000 marks. 
Leland in the time of Henry VHI described its ruins, 
and says the castle stood near the church. " Some pieces 
of the walls of it yet a little appear, but almost the whole 
of it is overgrown with bushes." Some mounds still mark 
its site. 

Another early castle existed at Chipping Norton, built 
by the Fitz-Alans. Erected in Stephen's reign it escaped 
destruction in the time of Henry U, when some other 
castles were pulled down. The "Castle Banks" near 
the church are all that remain of it. Roger d'lvry built 
a castle at Mixbury of considerable strength and so beau- 
tiful that his Norman neighbours called it Beaumont, or 
de Bello Monte. No stones of it are standing, but it is 
possible to follow the outlines of the strong building that 
once stood there, and mark the position of the keep and 
the inner and outer bailey-courts, while the moats show 
where the walls of the fortress stood. 

It is not known when the strong castle of Dedding- 
ton was raised, but it was in existence in the time of 
Edward II, and was then held by Aymer de Valence, 
Earl of Pembroke, who also had licence from the king 
to crenellate his house at Bampton in 131 5, that is, to 
erect a castle. Deddington had a notorious prisoner, 
Piers Gaveston, the worthless favourite of Edward II, 
who offended all the chief nobles of the realm by his 
pretensions, his manners, and by the offensive names he 
gave to them. The owner of Deddington and Bampton 



ARCHITECTURE— MILITARY 131 

he called "Joseph the Jew," the Earl of Warwick he 
nicknamed the "Black Dog." At length they seized 
Gaveston and held him prisoner at Deddington, ere they 
carried him off to the scaffold near Warwick. Some 
green mounds cover the remains of the once strong 
fortress. 

In the reign of the Edwards a new style of castle- 
building arose. No longer did the towering keep domi- 
nate the fortress. The Edwardian castle was based upon 
a square or oblong plan with towers at each corner and 
high curtain walls between them and a strong entrance 
gate in the centre of one of the sides. Anthony Wood 
visited Bampton in 1664 and made a sketch of the castle. 
This drawing is still in existence and shows that the 
fortress corresponded with the Edwardian type. It was 
of a quadrangular form, with a moat round it, and had 
towers at each corner, and a gatehouse of tower-like 
character on the west and east sides. At that time the 
whole of the western front was standing. The ruins 
stand a short distance westward of the church, from 
which it is separated by a brook. A gateway and a 
fragment of wall furnished with loopholes and battle- 
ments still remain. The groined roof of the upper 
chambers, the spiral stone staircase, and the niches in 
the walls with narrow slits for the discharge of arrows 
are interesting features of this once strong castle. There 
is a field near the castle which was formerly used as a 
tilting ground, where tournaments and the display of 
ancient chivalric exercises took place. It is also sur- 
rounded by a moat, and in the hollow ground formed 

9-2 



132 OXFORDSHIRE 

by the crumbling sides of the moat is a holy well whose 
healing waters cured all kinds of diseases. It was asso- 
ciated with the Blessed Virgin Mary, and was much 
frequented until the beginning of the last century. 
Aymer de Valence, the bitter enemy of Piers Gaveston, 
built this castle and also owned Deddington, fought at 
Bannockburn, and was killed at a knightly tournament. 
His splendid tomb is in Westminster Abbey. It is 
recorded that on one occasion he took part in a joust at 
Witney with Humphrey Bohun, Earl of Hereford. The 
castle passed by the marriage of his daughter to the Earls 
of Shrewsbury and remained in their hands until the 
beginning of the eighteenth century. 

Another Edwardian castle was built near Henley- 
on-Thames, known as Greys Court, erected in 1350 by 
John de Grey, whose family gained large possessions in 
the county, their memory being preserved by the name 
of the village Rotherfield Greys. Four of the towers 
are still standing and there are the remains of a moat. 
Within the walls of this castle a noble Elizabethan 
house was erected, now the residence of the Stapleton 
family. 

Shirburn Castle, also of the Edwardian type, was 
built originally by Warine de Lisle by royal licence in 
1377. A previous castle erected by Robert D'Oilly 
existed here, and was in the hands of King Stephen 
during the civil war; but the Empress captured one of 
the King's supporters, William Martel, and agreed to 
release him on condition that the castle was delivered 
up to her. It played a prominent part in the troubles 



ARCHITECTURE— MILITARY 



133 



of the reign of Edward II. Hither came Thomas, Earl 
of Lancaster, and the other Barons to conspire to over- 
throw the power of the Despensers, the King's favourites, 
who proved too strong for the nobles, and the owner of 
the castle, Warine de Lisle, was beheaded. It was his 




Broughton Castle 



grandson who began to build the present castle, which 
was not finished a century later. A wide moat surrounds 
it, spanned by a drawbridge, and a portcullis still exists. 
It is similar in plan to the Edwardian castles already 
described, but has been somewhat modernised. It has 



134 OXFORDSHIRE 

been held by many distinguished families, and was be- 
sieged during the Civil War in the seventeenth century, 
and gallantly held by the wife of the owner for a long 
period until the royal cause seemed hopeless and the 
full force of Fairfax's army was brought against her. It 
is now the residence of the Earl of Macclesfield. 




Banqueting Hall, Broughton Castle 

Broughton Castle at the present day belongs to the 
type of fortified mansions built at a time when the need 
of extensive castellated works and massive protecting 
walls had passed away, and the country had become 
settled. Recent discoveries have shown, however, that 



ARCHITECTURE— MILITARY 135 

a considerable part of the castle was erected in the 
fourteenth century (i 301-1307) by the Broughton family, 
who derived their name from the place. This earlier 
portion of the castle includes the hall, its date having 
been determined by the discovery of some fine Decorated 
windows. It would take much space to describe the 
subsequent alterations which have almost converted the 
appearance of the castle into that of an Elizabethan 
mansion. The guarding gatehouse, with the exception 
of the upper storey, the chapel and priest's room, the 
hall and some passages and rooms, are all fourteenth 
century work. The castle was purchased by William 
of Wykeham, the great architect, and given to his 
nephew Sir Thomas Wykeham, who considerably added 
to it. Then came the Lords Saye and Sele, who still 
own the castle, William, second Baron Saye and Sele, 
having married Margaret, great niece and heiress of Sir 
Thomas Wykeham. This distinguished family brought 
the castle into close touch with the annals of England, 
and the Elizabethan portion of the house was added by 
them. James I visited it on two occasions. It became 
the focus of resolved resistance to Charles I, the Great 
Rebellion having been planned in the little room at the 
top of the house where Pym, Hampden, Brooke, and 
Lord Saye and Sele (known as "Old Subtlety") used to 
meet. The Saye and Sele Bluecoats fought at Edgehill. 
The castle was besieged by the Royalists. An earthwork 
was thrown up in the park for a battery, and the defenders 
huno- bales of wool over the battlements to break the 
cannonading. The castle surrendered and was plundered. 



136 OXFORDSHIRE 

but its walls were not injured. Many relics of the Civil 
War period are preserved in the castle. " Old Subtlety " 
became a staunch Royalist. 

In addition to these castles the fortified manor houses 
in the county may be mentioned, which proved themselves 
formidable garrisons in the Civil War period. Such were 
the royal manor of Woodstock, which made a gallant 
defence ; Fawley and Phyllis Court near Henley ; the 
Blounts' house at Mapledurham; and many others which 
on account of their formidable defences might claim to 
be ranked as castles. 



i8. Architecture— (r) Domestic. Famous 
Mansions, Manor Houses and 
Cottages. 

Oxfordshire can boast of many noble and stately 
houses, and even the humble cottages of the countryside 
are worthy specimens of domestic architecture. Great 
Tew, which lies amidst steep, well-timbered hills in mid- 
Oxfordshire, has the credit of being the prettiest village in 
the shire. All the cottages are built of a local stone which 
has turned to a grey colour or rich ochre, and they are 
either steeply thatched or roofed with thin slabs of the 
same yellowish grey stone. The diamond-paned windows 
often have stone mullions with dripstones over them. 
No one cottage repeats another. Nowhere do we 
find slate or red brick. It is all very harmonious and 
beautiful. 



138 OXFORDSHIRE 

The story of the growth of English domestic archi- 
tecture is well illustrated by the manor houses and 
mansions of Oxfordshire. First there are the thirteenth 
century manor houses of Cottisford and Coggs. The 
former has been much altered and is now much smaller than 
it was originally, but it retains some fine Early English 
windows. The village of Coggs is very remarkable for 
its church, vicarage, barn, and manor house, which form 
a striking group of old buildings. The manor belonged 
to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, after the Conquest. There 
was a priory here founded by William de Arsic and 
attached to Fecamp Abbey, Normandy, and some part of 
the monks' buildings is incorporated in the vicarage. 
The church shows signs of French influence. The 
manor house retains its Early English windows, but was 
mostly rebuilt by Earl Downe in the sixteenth century. 

Bishop King's Palace was built in 1546 for the first 
Bishop of Oxford and last Abbot of Osney. The front 
was rebuilt in 1628. It has some richly decorated ceilings. 

Of the fortified structures reared when " every 
man's house was his castle," some examples have been 
given. When the wars were ended and the country 
more secure, men began to build more comfortable 
dwelling-places. Tudor architecture has the great charm 
of homeliness and severe beauty, and has produced some 
of the best types of houses in England. The plan of 
a Tudor house is very much like that of an Oxford or 
Cambridge college. There is an entrance-gate with 
porter's lodge or guard-room for retainers. This opened 
into a square court, on the far side of which we see the 



■p 




Bishop King's Palace, Oxford 



140 OXFORDSHIRE 

main entrance, which admits to a passage. On the right 
is the hall, separated from the passage by a screen ; on 
the left are the buttery and kitchens ; over the screen is 
the minstrels' gallery. The hall has a dais, or raised 
platform at the end remote from the screen, where the 
lord and his family dined, the servants taking their meals 
in the lower part of the hall on tables set on trestles. 
On the dais side there were doors and staircases leading 
to the withdrawing room and private apartments of the 
family. Based on such plans was the old house of Minster 
Lovell, now in ruins, remarkable as being a purely 
domestic building with no military feature, save a moat. 
The hall was a stately building of great height, lighted 
by four fifteenth century windows. History books tell us 
the rhyme : — 

" The Cat, the Rat, and Lovell the dog 
Rule all England under the Hog," 

referring to John, Lord Lovell, who took office under 
Richard HI and was hated by the Lancastrians, together 
with Catesby (the Cat), and Ratcliffe (the Rat). The 
son of this Lovell was in hiding in a vault at the house, 
his wants being attended to by a faithful old servant ; 
but she died suddenly, and her master was starved to 
death. 

Stanton Harcourt is a good example of an Early Tudor 
house as far as can be judged from the scanty remains. 
Henry VHI introduced foreign craftsmen into England 
who altered our style and greatly increased the ornamental 
details. Elizabethan houses have a profusion of ornament. 



ARCHITECTURE— DOMESTIC 



141 



The long gallery became a feature of the house ; it was 
on the first floor, and elegant staircases were introduced to 
lead to it. In later days came in the fashion to build in the 
Italian style, and many beautiful old houses were pulled 
down in order to make room for these foreign innovations. 




o^^^Sfc^ 




Wroxton Abbey 

Broughton Castle has much Elizabethan work. Wroxton 
Abbey is mainly Jacobean. There are a few thirteenth 
century arches remaining of the old monastic building. 
The present house is a very noble dwelling, full of 
historical portraits and tapestries, and beautiful in every 
respect. Studley Priory was also built in the time of 



142 



OXFORDSHIRE 



James I, and here too we can discover some traces of 
the monastic buildings. Asthall Manor is Elizabethan : 
Chastleton was built between the years 1603 and 1610. 
Robert Catesby of Gunpowder Plot fame once owned 
the manor and sold it to Walter Jones, whose family still 
holds it. 

Some houses are built on a plan shaped after the 
letter E ; some think that this was in compliment to 
Queen Elizabeth, but that is a mistake. It was a 
development of preceding plans. Thus we have the 
original plan of a hall. Then the house took to itself 
wings in order to provide additional rooms for the family 





























— 






u 


_ 




LI 



and servants and the porch became a more elaborate 
structure. Thus we get an E-shaped house. There are 
some H-shaped houses, and these are taken to stand for 
Henry VIII. But this is only a further development of plan. 
The cross piece is the original hall, and the wings on each 
side are extended both ways in order to provide increased 
accommodation for the family and guests. Fritwell is 
E-shaped ; it is a very beautiful Jacobean house erected 
in 1619. Shutford manor house is earlier, a lofty, gloomy 
house built by the Wykehams of Broughton. Maple- 
durham, the house of the Blounts, was mainly built in 
the time of Elizabeth,*when the beautiful front was added 
to an old irregular half-timbered house of the fifteenth 




^4T 




The Octagon House, Oxford 



144 OXFORDSHIRE 

century. It has beautiful oriel windows, a central portion 
with two deep wings, and high towering chimneys of red 
brick, of which the house is built. 

There are other good examples of domestic architecture 
in Hardwicke, Barton, Cornbury, Rousham, Gaunt House, 
Cote, Shipton Court, and Stonor. But these are sufficient 
to show the treasures which the county contains. 

Blenheim Palace, presented to the first Duke of 
Marlborough by the nation, is a building of great 
magnificence and cost ^300,000. It was built by the 
playwright and architect Sir John Vanbrugh in 1704. 
Other later mansions are Nuneham, Heythrop, Tew 
Park, Middleton Stoney (1755), Tusmore (1766), and 
Watlington. 

An illustration is given overleaf of a house called the 
Octagon House, said to be the oldest in Oxford. The 
doorway appears to be of the fifteenth century. 

Some mention of cottages has already been made. 
These are especially beautiful at Burford and in the 
Cotswold country. We see there the greatest pains 
bestowed upon the details of these buildings, on the 
doorways, windows, chimneys, and roofs. There is 
nothing hurried or slovenly about them. They differ 
greatly from modern cottages, which are built cheaply 
with glaring bricks, ugly slates, and the cheapest possible 
door and window frames imported from abroad. Nothing 
can be more hideous than rows of modern cottages, or 
more beautiful than the old Oxfordshire cottages of the 
Cotswold country. 



ARCHITECTURE— COLLEGES 145 



19. Architecture— (^) Colleges. 

The history of the founding of the University of 
Oxford abounds in interest and needs careful study. 
Popular tradition points to King Alfred as its first founder, 
and in his time there may have been schools at Oxford in 
Saxon days. Oxford owes much to the University of 
Paris, where there was an outburst of great intellectual 
activity at the end of the eleventh century, and Abelard 
grew up to be the greatest of its teachers. Paris scholars 
formed themselves into a definite society about the year 
1 1 50. English scholars often went there to seek learning, 
and sometimes Frenchmen came to Oxford for a like 
purpose, as in 11 17 we hear of a Doctor of Caen, in 
Normandy, becoming a master of Oxford. As all 
scholars used the Latin tongue there was much more 
intercourse between those of various countries than in 
later times. Towards the close of the twelfth century 
a great migration took place of students from Paris to 
Oxford, and soon we find 3000 students at the University. 
They were lodged in halls, hostels, and boarding houses, 
but the colleges did not yet exist. University College, 
originally Great University Hall, was founded in 1249 
by William de Durham. It was not really a college 
until later, and no part of the present building is earlier 
than 1634. The real founder of colleges was Walter de 
Merton who in 1263 made over his estates to a community 
of scholars who were to study at a University. This 
was the origin of Merton Hall or College, and after his 



D. o. 



10 



146 OXFORDSHIRE 

time colleges sprang up and became the homes of learning, 
religion, and fellowship which they now are. 

The usual plan of a college, as already stated, is some- 
what similar to that of a large Tudor house. It required 
a great hall with kitchen, buttery, etc., a chapel, and 
rooms for tutors, fellows, and students. The buildings 
were grouped round one or more large quadrangles, and 
some of them retain the beauty of their Gothic archi- 
tecture. Many have been rebuilt in later times. 

It is curious to note that at Oxford Gothic traditions 
of building lingered on long after they had died out 
elsewhere. The builders and masons were accustomed 
to build in Gothic style and continued to work in that 
style regardless of the changing fashions elsewhere. Thus 
in the seventeenth century they built Wadham College, 
a fine late Gothic college, when the Renaissance style 
was being followed everywhere else. 

A walk through the streets of Oxford is one of the 
most delightful that can be enjoyed. Starting from Carfax, 
a corruption of Quatrevois or four ways, we pass along 
St Aldate's Street, named after the church dedicated to 
the Saxon Saint, and on the right is Pembroke College, 
formerly Broadgates Hall. The present college was 
founded in 1624 and named after William Herbert, Earl 
of Pembroke, Chancellor of the University in 1616. 
Only the refectory of the older buildings remains. The 
front quadrangle was built in the seventeenth century, the 
chapel in 1732 and the new hall in 1848. Dr Johnson 
became a student here in 1728. On the left of St Aldate's 
is Christ Church, the most magnificent college in Oxford, 





cy 



o 



[O — 2 



148 OXFORDSHIRE 

founded by Cardinal Wolsey in 1525 and at first called 
Cardinal's College. After his fall King Henry VHI 
completed the foundation, though on a smaller scale than 
the Cardinal intended. We enter the great quadrangle 
(" Tom Quad "), which takes its name from the famous 
Bell, Great Tom, that hangs in the gateway. The 
college buildings share the remains of the monastery of 
St Frideswide, including the minster (now the cathedral, 
which was shorn of part of its length by the college 
buildings), the chapter house and the refectory. The 
tower that carries the great Bell was built by Sir 
Christopher Wren in 1682. The beautiful fan-tracery 
in the roof of the staircase leading to the hall looks like 
Perpendicular work, but was made by one Smith of 
London in 1640. The hall is a noble structure and 
its walls are hung with the portraits of the famous sons 
of Christ Church. The new buildings erected in 1862 
in the style of " Venetian Gothic " are an illustration of 
how not to build. There is another quadrangle called 
Peckwater, named after an old hostel kept by Ralf 
Peckwater in the thirteenth century. The present 
buildings are Palladian, so named after Palladio, the Italian 
architect who flourished in the middle of the sixteenth 
century and set this fashion of building in this country. 
A small quadrangle adjoins called Canterbury, so named 
after a college of that name founded by Simon Islip, 
Archbishop of Canterbury in 1363. Together with 
Peckwater Inn it was united with Christ Church by 
Henry VIII. The present buildings were erected at the 
close of the eighteenth century. 



ARCHITECTURE— COLLEGES 



149 



Leaving Christ Church by this Canterbury Gate we 
see Oriel College, founded by Adam de Brome, almoner 
of Edward II, and originally called St Mary's College. 
The king, however, acquired the patronage and credit of 
founding the college. Its name is somewhat puzzling 
and is probably derived from an old mansion called " The 
Oriole " which formerly occupied the site. Its old 




Oriel College 



buildings have entirely disappeared, the present front 
quadrangle having been erected in 1620. It is an in- 
teresting example of " Oxford Gothic," like Wadham, 
retaining many characteristics of earlier traditional work. 
Noticeable are the mullioned windows, hooded by labels, 
the handsome shaped gables, the hall on the left with its 
louvre, the fine porch with its frieze " Regnante Carolo," 



150 



OXFORDSHIRE 



the statue of the Virgin, and those of Edward II and 
Charles I. The old St Mary's Hall is now incorporated 
with the college. The inner " quad " (Oxford men 
always call these courts quads, not quadrangles) shows in 
the library, erected in 1788, the debased architecture 
of Wyatt, the architect who did so much mischief in 
restoring cathedrals and destroying the beautiful work of 




Merton College Library 

earlier ages. Amongst its great men was Sir Walter 
Ralegh, and Pusey, Keble, Dean Church, Tom Hughes, 
and Cecil Rhodes were also members of the college. 
In 191 1 the college was extended into the High Street, 
the cost being defrayed out of the Rhodes bequest. 

Near at hand is Corpus Christi College, founded in 
1 5 16 by Richaid Foxe, Bishop of Winchester, prelate. 



ARCHITECTURE— COLLEGES 151 

statesman, architect, soldier, and diplomatist. The front 
quadrangle is his work and also the chapel, though it 
has been much mutilated by subsequent alterations. 
Proceeding along Merton Street we come to Merton 
College, the first real example of the collegiate system. 
The parish church of St John Baptist became its chapel. 
The oldest part of the present buildings is the muniment 
room, which may date back to the original tenements 
purchased by the founder in 1263. The hall was restored 
and ruined by Wyatt, and restored in 1878. The library, 
with its chained books, is one of the most interesting 
medieval rooms in England ; it was erected in 1345 and 
the beautiful quad on the south was completed in 1610. 
The entrance gateway was built in 141 6 and has statues 
of Henry III and Walter de Merton, and a sculptured 
tablet representing St John preaching in the wilderness. 

At the eastern end of the High Street are the grand 
buildings of Magdalen College, the most beautiful piece 
of architecture in Oxford. It was built by William de 
Waynflete, once Master of Eton in the time of Henry VI, 
in 1458. The tower was completed in 1507 and together 
with the cloisters form a remarkable group of great beauty ; 
its sons have been noted for their learning, and include 
two cardinals, four archbishops, forty bishops, and such 
eminent men as Sir Thomas Bodley, founder of the 
Bodleian Library, Dean Colet, Addison, Gibbon, Lyly, 
Hampden, and Camden. 

Next we notice University College, founded as Great 
University Hall in 1249. The oldest part of the present 
buildings is the west side of the first quad, begun in 1634. 




Magdalen College Tower 



ARCHITECTURE— COLLEGES 



L53 



A legend connects the college with King Alfred, but 
this is entirely mythical. Amongst its alumni are Robert 
Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Richard Fleming, founder of 
Lincoln College, several bishops, Shelley, and many other 
distinguished men. Across the way stands Queen's 
College, remarkable for its Italian-looking front, designed 




Queen's College 

by Hawksmoor, a pupil of Wren. It was founded by 
Robert de Eglesfield, chaplain to Queen Philippa, after 
whom it is named, in 1340. Several old customs are 
preserved at Queen's, such as the bringing in of the 
Boar's Head on Christmas Day, and the giving of a needle 
and thread on New Year's Day, with the words *'^ Aiguille 



154 OXFORDSHIRE 

et fil — Take this and be thrifty." The French words 
mean needle and thread, and are supposed to sound like 
" Eglesfield," and thus perpetuate the memory of the good 
founder's name. 

Not far away is All Souls' College, the splendid 
foundation of Archbishop Chichele in 1437, ^ college of 
Fellows, not of undergraduates. Near it rise the lofty 
spire of St Mary's Church, the dome of the RadclifFe 
Library, the University buildings and Bodleian Library, 
and Brasenose College, founded in 1509, with its brazen 
nose above the gate. The name is usually derived 
from Brasen-huis, a brew-house, which formerly occupied 
its site. Near by in Turl Street is Exeter College, 
founded in 13 14 by Walter de Stapledon. Little old 
work remains, only the gatehouse and the Rector's 
lodgings. Here also is Lincoln College, founded in 1427 
by Richard Fleming, Bishop of London, " to defend the 
mysteries of the sacred page," and to oppose the doctrines 
of Wycliffe ; and Jesus College, a Welsh foundation, the 
first Post-Reformation College in Oxford. Hugh Price 
was the founder in 1571 with the patronage of Queen 
Elizabeth, whose fine portrait by Zucchero hangs in the 
hall. The oldest part is the front facing Turl Street. 
The chapel is "Oxford Gothic" of the date 1636. 

Across Broad Street stands Trinity College, founded 
on the site of the old Durham College of the thirteenth 
century, by Sir Thomas Pope, one of Henry VHI's most 
trusted officials. Wren designed the garden quadrangle, 
a fine piece of work. On the west of the front quad 
can be detected some original building. Next to it stands 




The Twin Towers, All Souls' 




The Radcliffe Library 



ARCHITECTURE— COLLEGES 



157 



Balliol College, noted for its scholarship and its antiquity. 
Sir John de Balliol was a powerful baron in the time 
of Henry HI who joined Simon de Montfort's rebellion. 
He was captured and ordered to be scourged at Durham 
Cathedral. He escaped the penalty by promising to found 
a college for poor Durham scholars. Dying before ac- 
complishing his intention, he begged his widow Devorgilla 





New College 



to build the colleo;e. She carried out his wishes and 
created a foundation which subsequently developed into 
Balliol College. Very little of the old building remains, 
only the reading room and library, which are early 
fifteenth century work. Modern buildings have not 
improved the college, but it remains a home of light 
and learning, and numbers amongst its alumni a crowd 



158 



OXFORDSHIRE 



of great names, including Evelyn, Lockhart, Southey, 
Matthew Arnold, Swinburne, Manning, and T. H. 
Green. 

New College is a bright contrast to Balliol. It has 
preserved its old buildings intact erected by William of 




Mansfield College 



Wykeham just before 1400 a.d., though the roof of the 
hall has been raised and a third storey added to the front 
quad. William of Wykeham intended that it should be 
allied with his other foundation, Winchester School, in 
order to complete the education of the students. St John's 



ARCHITECTURE— COLLEGES 



159 



College was founded by Archbishop Chichele, the pious 
founder of All Souls'. Its original name was St Bernard's 
College, and it was connected with the Cistercian order 
of monks. This was swept away by Henry VIII^ and 
in Mary's reign Sir Thomas White, twice Lord Mayor 
of London, refounded the college and designated it 




Somerville College 



St John's College. Archbishop Laud's munificence en- 
abled Inigo Jones to complete the second quad, which 
opens into one of the most beautiful gardens in Oxford. 
Wadham College was founded in i6i2 by Dorothy 
Wadham in accordance with her husband's wishes. The 
buildings are as she left them, a fine example of " Oxford 
Gothic," retaining traces of the Somerset origin of its 



160 OXFORDSHIRE 

masons. Worcester College was formerly Gloucester 
Hall, and Hertford College in living memory Magdalen 
Hall. Keble College is modern, reared in memory of 
John Keble, the author of the Christian Tear. Mansfield 
is also modern and was built for the benefit of Noncon- 
formists. Nor are women students forgotten in modern 
Oxford. Somerville Hall was opened in 1879 and 
afterwards enlarged, and there are also Lady Margaret's, 
St Hugh's, and St Hilda's Halls. 

We have traced the history of these Oxford colleges 
which form part of the great University, the alma mater 
of learning and of learned sons. She has played a great 
part in the history of England, and by wise effort and 
expansion may live to extend her influence still wider and 
to confer increased benefits upon the nation. 



20. Communications — Past and Present. 
Roads. Railways. Canals. 

The oldest roads in Oxfordshire are the trackways 
which were made in prehistoric times, connecting early 
settlements, and often guarded by camps and earthworks. 
Such a trackway runs from Rollright Stones northward 
along the top of the hills separating the territories of the 
Dobuni and the Carnabii as far as Nadbury Camp. 
Another runs from the same stones by Hook Norton 
Camp and through Tadmarton Camp, through Banbury, 
connecting with Banbury Lane a long trackway leading 
into Northamptonshire. Along these ancient trackways 



COMMUNICATIONS 161 

about RoUright and Tadmarton drovers could travel, 
until the middle of the last century, more than one 
hundred miles without passing through a tollbar. The 
Saltway, another ancient trackway, which still exists 
under that name at Banbury, ran by the foot of Crouch 
Hill in a south-easterly direction towards London. The 




The Saltway near Banbury 

Portway crossed the Banbury Lane from north to south, 
on the east of the district adjoining the Coritani. It 
entered Oxfordshire at Souldern, proceeding south to 
Kirtlington and going on to Port Meadow at Oxford. 
It still remains a direct and ancient trackway. The 
Icknield Way, running from the east coast to Bath, 
passes through Oxfordshire. It enters the county near 
D. o. II 



162 OXFORDSHIRE 

Chinnor, and then divides into an upper and a lower 
road. Passing by Aston Rowant and then east ot 
Watlington it skirts the Swyncombe Downs and proceeds 
in a south-westerly direction to Goring, crossing the 
Thames to Streatley in Berkshire. 

The Romans often made use of these old trackways, 
improving them and paving them. The chief authority 
for Roman roads in Britain is the Antonine Itinerary^ 
a road-book of the Roman Empire, probably written in 
the reign of Antoninus Pius (138 to 161 a.d.) but largely 
added to in later times. But it omits to record the great 
Roman road called Akeman Street, a branch of the 
Watling Street, that ran through Tring and Aylesbury 
to Cirencester and Bath. It was probably a later Roman 
road and therefore not included in the Itinerary. It 
enters the county from the east near Blackthorn, not far 
from Bicester, proceeds to Kirtlington across the Cherwell, 
through Wychwood Forest to Asthall, where it crosses 
the Windrush, and then goes up the hillside across the 
Cheltenham road, and so into Gloucestershire to Ciren- 
cester. 

Another Roman road has been traced from Alchester 
to Dorchester running across Otmoor. It probably 
crossed the Thames and passed on to Calleva or Silchester. 

The building and repair of bridges and the main- 
tenance of roads in medieval times were considered 
religious acts. Guilds existed for this purpose, and the 
monks kept the roads in repair on their properties. They 
fell into sad neglect after the destruction of monasteries 
and guilds. Arthur Young, who travelled about England 



COMMUNICATIONS 



163 



observing the state of the country, wrote in 1740 that he 
remembered the roads when they were in a condition 
formidable to the bones of all who travelled on wheels. 
The two great " turnpikes " — as they were called — 
which crossed the county by Witney and Chipping 
Norton, by Henley and Wycombe, were repaired in some 
places with stones as large as they could be brought from 




Whitchurch Toll Gate 

the quarry, and when broken, left as they were. At 
that period the cross roads were passable, but with real 
danger. There was always a wide space on each side 
of the road, so that when the road itself was very bad 
vehicles could be driven along these side ways. Great 
improvements were made at the beginning of the nine- 
teenth century. This was caused by the passing of the 

II — 2 



164 OXFORDSHIRE 

Turnpike Act in 1763, which ordered the levying of tolls 
for the repair of the roads. Hence arose the old tollbars 
which were deemed such a nuisance in the middle of the 
nineteenth century. They would be intolerable to the 
swift-speeding motorist of to-day. But they had their 
advantages, and justly exacted tribute for the repair of 
the roads from those who used them. 

In the old coaching days Henley and Oxford were 
great coaching centres. The journey from London to 
Oxford took two days in Anthony Wood's time, in 1665, 
but two years later the " flying " coaches undertook to 
perform the journey in one day during the summer 
months. The roads continued to be very bad, and the 
passengers by the coaches had often to dismount and 
walk up the hills, especially the steep ascents of Shotover. 
Highwaymen frequented the Chilterns, especially Gangs- 
down and Aston Hill, and the road between Witney and 
Burford was not very safe from the " gentlemen of the 
road." Some of the inns along the roads had not a very 
good reputation and murders were committed. 

Matters improved with the nineteenth century. A 
great road led from London to Oxford and thence to 
Worcester. The coach passed through Brentford and 
Hounslow to Maidenhead, and entered the county at 
Henley, a town of famous coaching inns. Thence the 
route led by Bix Turnpike, Nettlebed, Benson, Dorchester 
and Littlemore to Oxford, where the four principal 
coaching inns were the "Angel," "King's Arms," "Roe 
Buck," and "Star." If you continued your journey you 
would pass through Wolvercote, Woodstock, Chipping 



COMMUNICATIONS 165 

Norton, past the Four Shire Stone to Moreton-in-the- 
Marsh, and so through Worcestershire to its county- 
town. 

Another route from London to Oxford ran through 
High Wycombe, Stokenchurch, Tetsworth, Wheatley, 
and over Shotover Hill to Headington and Oxford. The 
journey had been shortened by cutting a new road from 
Shotover. The road would then conduct you to Witney, 
Burford, Northleach, and Cheltenham to Gloucester. 
This great road was once the glory of the county. The 
fame of the Great North Road, or of the Bath Road, was 
not greater than that of this Cotswold road. It was 
renowned long before the coaching age. It was traversed 
by the wains of the cloth merchants, and half the wealth 
of England passed over it to the sea. There were many- 
cross roads along which coaches or post-chaises ran. You 
could journey from Bristol to Norwich, passing through 
Malmesbury, Faringdon, Botley Hill, and Oxford. 

We are warned in Moggs's Road Book (1823) that 
the road from Oxford to Cambridge was "very in- 
different," and students were advised to go round by 
High Wycombe and St Albans. The direct road led to 
Wheatley, Thame, Aylesbury, Dunstable, Royston, and 
Cambridge. You could also travel from Oxford to 
Cambridge and thence to Newmarket and Norwich by 
passing through Bicester, Buckingham, and Bedford. 

Another road ran south from Oxford to Wallingford, 
and then on to Basingstoke and Chichester ; another 
from Oxford to Derby, by Banbury and Coventry. 
Another connected Oxford with Peterborough, by way 



166 



OXFORDSHIRE 



of Brackley and Northampton, and there were many 
other cross roads traversing the county. 

The Great Western is the principal railway. Its 
main line touches the county at Goring and Culham. 
The Henley branch starts from Twyford in Berkshire. 
The northern branch leaves Didcot (Berks.) and runs 
nearly due north through the county from Oxford to 




Canal at Oxford 



Fenny Compton. A branch from Oxford goes through 
Yarnton and Witney to Fairford, another to Worcester 
by Charlbury and Chipping Norton Junction. Another 
runs from Chipping Norton Junction by Hook Norton 
to King's Sutton, and another through Wheatley and 
Thame to Princes Risborough, whence a branch runs to 
Watlington. The London and North Western Railway 
has a station at Oxford for a branch leading from that 



COMMUNICATIONS 167 

city to Bletchley, Bedford, and Cambridge. The Great 
Central Railway crosses a corner of the county and has 
one station at Finmere. 

The opening of the Oxford and Birmingham Canal 
in 1790 was deemed the beginning of a new era of trade 
and commerce. It opened up the southern counties to 
the manufacture and products of Birmingham, and was 
especially valuable in providing a much cheaper supply of 
coal, which was conveyed to Oxford and the places lying 
north of that city, and by means of the Thames to 
Henley. In 1789 the Thames was connected with the 
Severn by the Stroudwater Canal, while the Wilts and 
Berks Canal from Abingdon connected Oxford with 
Wiltshire. 

The river Thames continued to be the great means 
of traffic with London, but in the eighteenth century it 
was not the placid stream that nowadays affords delight 
to oarsmen. The dangers of the river in winter, in times 
of flood and storm, were serious obstacles. No less serious 
was the stranding of the barges in summer, when they lay 
aground for three weeks or a month. The sessions of 
Berkshire record many wrecks. Locks were infrequent, 
and the system of "flashing" was used to carry the barges 
over the shallows. At the shallow places stanches were 
placed which penned up the river, and when suddenly 
removed the barges were floated by the sudden rush of 
the water over the shallows below. The boats had to be 
laboriously towed up the river with the aid of a capstan 
on the bank. 

The whole system of inland navigation was fairly 



168 



OXFORDSHIRE 



complete ; millions of money had been spent in making 
canals and improving the course of rivers, when the 
invention of railways doomed them to idleness, and 
caused their abandonment. Possibly, now that motor 
traction is available, the silent waterways of England may 
again be used and have a prosperous future, but most of 
them are at present derelict and forgotten. 




Mapledurham Lock 



21. Administration and Divisions — 
Ancient and Modern. 

The gradual growth and development of local govern- 
ment is an interesting study. Laws are made in Parliament 
for the whole country, but power is given to counties or 



ADMINISTRATION AND DIVISIONS 169 

parts of counties and boroughs to manage their own affairs. 
All this is but a development of the system of government 
which existed in Saxon times. Then the King was the 
supreme ruler, and he had a kind of central parliament, 
consisting of bishops, abbots, and the principal thanes or 
landowners, who assisted him in the governing of the 
country. But each county had a council called a shire- 
mote, which met twice a year, and consisted of the 
freeholders of the county. Its presiding officers were 
the Ealdorman, whose name survives in the modern 
Alderman, and the Shire-reeve, or Sheriff, who represented 
the King. 

Besides this shire-mote there were the Hundred-courts. 
Each county was divided into Hundreds, each of which 
consisted of a hundred families of freemen. Oxfordshire 
has 14 Hundreds. Each Hundred had its own court, 
which met once a month for settling its own business, 
adjusting disputes, and trying prisoners. It had a regular 
place of meeting — some conspicuous tree, or near a ford, or 
a hill. Most of the Oxfordshire Hundreds are named 
after certain places within their area, but that of Lang- 
tree may have been named after some tree where the court 
was held. 

The Saxons had yet another court. Each Hundred 
was composed of a number of townships or villages, and 
each township had its own court under the presidency of 
an officer called the reeve. In Norman times this became 
the manorial court presided over by the lord of the manor, 
or by his reeve or steward. These manorial courts have 
continued for many centuries, and their records throw 



170 OXFORDSHIRE 

much light on the history of each parish which has 
preserved its court-rolls. 

In our own day each county has two chief officers, 
the Lord Lieutenant, who is appointed by the Crown and 
is usually a nobleman or rich landowner ; and the High 
Sheriff, who is chosen every year on November I2th. 

In 1888 County Councils were established by Act of 
Parliament, and the Oxfordshire County Council meets 
at Oxford, and consists of a chairman, 1 5 aldermen, and 
47 councillors. They keep in repair the main roads and 
bridges, levy rates for this purpose and for other county 
requirements, manage asylums, allotments, and small 
holdings, and deal with education and many other im- 
portant matters. 

In I 894 another Act was passed which created Urban 
and Rural District Councils and provided Parish Councils 
for each parish of over 300 inhabitants. There are 16 
Urban and Rural District Councils in Oxfordshire. 
Separated from this system of county government are the 
large towns, and some towns which are ancient but not 
large, which have their own municipal government handed 
down to them from a remote past. These powers have 
been granted by royal charters, and the towns are governed 
by a Mayor and Corporation. These towns are Oxford, 
Woodstock, Henley, Chipping Norton, and Banbury. 
Burford used to have its municipal corporation, but was 
deprived of it by the Municipal Corporation Act of 
1 86 1. Its importance was shown by the granting of 
sixteen royal charters to the little town. 

There are also Poor Law Unions controlled by Boards 



ADMINISTRATION AND DIVISIONS 171 

of Guardians, who manage the workhouses and administer 
reHef to the poor. The administration of justice is at- 




Banbury Town Hall 

tended to by the courts of Quarter Sessions. There are 
also Petty Sessional Divisions, each having magistrates or 
justices of the peace to try cases and punish offenders. 



172 OXFORDSHIRE 

If the crime is a grave one the prisoner is sent to be 
tried by the Judge of the Assize Courts. 

There is a peculiar form of government at Oxford. 
As above stated there are the Mayor and Corporation and 
Borough Magistrates who try prisoners ; but there is also 
the Vice-Chancellor's court, connected with the Univer- 
sity. This court has great power, and exercises control 
over all the members of the University, who can claim 
to be tried in the Vice-Chancellor's Court and not by the 
authorities of the city. It also exercises control over the 
tradesmen of the city, in connection with their dealings 
with members of the University. The University has 
officers called Proctors, who have to see that the under- 
graduates observe the rules, and can levy fines on those 
who do not wear their academic dress in the streets or 
transgress other regulations. 

There are 303 civil parishes in Oxfordshire, but for 
ecclesiastical purposes the county is divided into 239 
parishes. Oxfordshire with Berkshire and Buckingham- 
shire constitute the Oxford diocese. The cathedral is at 
Oxford, and the Bishop resides at Cuddesdon, about eight 
miles from the city. Each county is an archdeaconry and 
is supervised by an Archdeacon. Parishes are grouped 
together into rural deaneries, each of which is in charge 
of a rural dean, whose duty it is to go round to the 
churches in his district and see that everything is kept 
in proper order. 

The County of Oxfordshire sends three members to 
Parliament and is divided into three Parliamentary Divi- 
sions. These are the Northern or Banbury Division, the 



ADMINISTRATION AND DIVISIONS 173 

Mid or Woodstock Division, and the Southern or Henley- 
Division. The city of Oxford now sends only one mem- 
ber, but formerly returned two to Parliament, and the 
University of Oxford sends two members to represent it 
in the council of the nation. 



22. Roll of Honour. 

The presence of Oxford University in the shire has 
brought to it many of the greatest men of light and 
learning that England has ever known. Endless is the roll 
of scholars and sages, poets and professors, philosophers and 
theologians, who owe to Oxford their successes and their 
renown. But it is not possible in a single chapter to do 
more than refer to Oxfordshire worthies who have done 
honour to the county apart from the university; men and 
women who have been born or bred in the shire, or 
honoured it by residing within its borders. 

Richard Coeur de Lion, writer of verses, friend of 
Bertrand de Born, was born in 1157 ^^ ^^^ Palace of 
Beaumont outside the northern wall of Oxford. He 
always retained an affection for the place of his birth. 
Richard, Earl of Cornwall, King of the Romans, built 
a palace at Beckley, which parish was once owned by 
King Alfred, and bestowed great benefits on the shire, 
using his great wealth for the building and decorating of 
churches. 

Other royal persons, natives of the county, were 
Edward, Prince of Wales (i 330-1 376), known as the 
Black Prince, the eldest son of King Edward III, born 



174 



OXFORDSHIRE 



at Woodstock, the hero of Crecy and Poictiers ; and 
Thomas of Woodstock, the same king's youngest son, 
noted for his turbulent character and his tragic death 
at Calais during the reign of his nephew, Richard II. 

Oxfordshire can boast of some poets. The Dublin 
manuscript of Piers Plowman has a marginal note to the 




Manor House, Woodstock 

{Reputed bi7-thplace of the Black Prince) 

effect that William Langland's father was a native of 
Shipton-under-Wychwood, and this village is believed 
to have been the poet's birthplace. Geoffrey Chaucer's 
memory is connected with Woodstock, where he was a 
member of the court of Edward III. He was certainly 
there in 1357, and his allusion in the Parliament of 



ROLL OF HONOUR 175 

Fowles to a park '* walled with greene stone" may be con- 
sidered to refer to Woodstock. The heiress of Thomas 
Chaucer was the owner of Ewelme and wife of William 
de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, who was murdered in 1450, 
and in Ewelme church is the fine marble tomb of 
Thomas Chaucer and his wife. 

Queen Elizabeth can be claimed as an Oxfordshire 
poetess, as she wrote some verses during her imprison- 
ment at Woodstock, bemoaning her hard fate, and envious 
of the freedom of a poor milkmaid. 

Michael Drayton was not an Oxfordshire man, but 
he sang of the beauties of the " Isis, Cotswold's hpire " 
that "wed with Tame, old Chiltern's son." Sir William 
d'Avenant, poet and writer of plays, " the sweet swan of 
Isis," was born at a house afterwards the Crown Inn at 
Oxford in 1605. The ancestors of John Milton are said 
to have lived at Great Milton, his grandfather at Stanton 
St John, and we get nearer to the poet at Forest Hill, 
where he stayed in 1643 ^^^ ^^^ Mary Powell, his first 
wife, who brought the poet little comfort. John Wilmot, 
Earl of Rochester (i 647-1 680), born at Ditchley and 
educated at Burford Grammar School and afterwards at 
Wadham, though not a worthy, was a poet and lived at 
Adderbury with his Countess, to whom he often wrote 
when he was in London. 

Pope finished his fifth volume of the Iliad at Stanton 
Harcourt, wrote an epitaph in the church, and often 
stayed at Mapledurham, where he imagined himself in 
love with Martha and Theresa Blount. Shelley was at 
University College, Oxford, whence he was expelled. He 



176 OXFORDSHIRE 

used to wander over Shotover, and in 1815 he tracked 
the Thames to its source and wrote some of his sweetest 
lines upon it. Wordsworth's sonnets on Oxford, written 
in 1820, are well known, and also his pleasant description 
of "a Parsonage in Oxfordshire," which is Souldern. 
Tennyson was married at Shiplake, where lived a clergy- 
man \yho added a new word to the English language, 
James Granger, who wrote the Biographical History of 
England, and introduced the practice of extra-illustrating 
books, called "Grangerising," thereby destroying many 
books from which he removed plates and pictures. William 
Morris, poet, artist, reformer, lived in the quiet manor 
house at Kelmscott, mused on the fields of Isis, and 
laboured, sending forth into the world his printed Odysseys 
and Aeneids, dyed wools and wall-papers, Sagas and social 
pamphlets, in strange confusion. With him lived Dante 
Gabriel Rossetti, painter and poet, who often wrote in 
his poems about the natural beauties of Kelmscott. He 
sang of the low-lying meadows — 

" When the drained floodlands flaunt their marigolds." 

He praised the beauties of the arrow-head rush with its 
"lovely staff of blossom just like a little sceptre"; and 
when the snow lay deep upon the ground, and 

" The current shudders to its ice-bound sedge ; 
Nipped in their bath, the stalk reeds one by one 
Flash each its clinging diamond in the sun." 

William Morris gives a description of Kelmscott in his 
News from Nowhere., and there devised his Earthly 
Paradise. 



ROLL OF HONOUR 177 

Of learned divines Oxfordshire has many. Leofric, 
first bishop of Exeter, was born at Bampton, which still 
retains its connection with the see. The bishops of 
Oxford have long resided at Cuddesdon, and on the 
walls of the Palace are the portraits of the many learned 
men who have held the see. It is difficult to select 
names of special distinction from this list of famous men, 
beginning with Robert King in 1545 to the late bishop, 
Francis Paget. Mention should be made of the heroic 
Bishop Skinner, who during the time of persecution under 
the Commonwealth lived in the rectory at Launton, and 
at great personal risk ordained 300 or 400 clergymen 
during that period. Archbishop Juxon, who attended 
Charles I on the scaffold, was rector of Somerton, and 
was buried in St John's College Chapel. Bishop Seeker 
of Oxford, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, baptised, 
crowned, and married George IIL Bishop Wilberforce's 
fame is so well known that it need not be recalled. 
Archbishop Laud's connection with St John's College 
has already been mentioned. Dr Heylin, theologian and 
historian, chaplain of Charles I, was born at Burford. 
The Puritan divine, John Owen, was born at Stadhamp- 
ton, of which parish his father was minister. He had to 
leave Oxford on account of his opposition to Laud's regu- 
lations. He preached before Parliament on the day after 
the execution of Charles I, and became Cromwell's chap- 
lain, and subsequently Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, 
and Vice-Chancellor of the University. Dr South, the 
witty preacher of the Restoration period, was rector of 
Islip, and left behind him some memorials in a rebuilt 
D. o. j2 



178 OXFORDSHIRE 

chancel and rectory. Islip was famous for its learned 
rectors, who were also Deans of Westminster. Amongst 
them may be mentioned William Vincent, philologist, died 
1815, John Ireland (1761-1842), founder of the Ireland 
scholarships at Oxford, and Dr William Buckland (1784— 
1856), the great geologist, and father of Frank Buckland, 
the naturalist. John Henry Newman, afterwards Car- 
dinal, was vicar of Littlemore and also of St Mary's, 
Oxford, just before his secession to the Church of Rome. 
The church at Littlemore was built by him in 1836. 

Of statesmen and warriors Oxfordshire has had no 
lack. William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, the guardian 
of Henry III, died at Caversham. At Ewelme lived 
William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, who died a violent 
death at sea in 1450, and afterwards Edmund, Earl of 
Lincoln. Henry VIII visited him at Ewelme but after- 
wards executed him. Lucius Cary, Lord Falkland, one 
of the noblest men of the Civil War period, was born at 
Burford in 1610, killed at the battle of Newbury, and 
buried at Great Tew, where his home was. Sir Henry 
Lee, K.G., lived at Ditchley, where his descendant. Lord 
Dillon, now resides. He performed good service at the 
siege of Edinburgh in 1574 and was made Ranger of 
Woodstock Park. Dudley Carleton, Viscount Dorches- 
ter (i 574-1632), second son of Anthony Carleton, was 
born at Baldwin Brightwell, and was ambassador in 
Venice, Holland, and France, and Secretary of State. 
He was a great patron of painters, and to him Rubens 
dedicated the engraving of "The Descent from the 
Cross." The family of Saye and Sele lived at Broughton 



ROLL OF HONOUR 179 

Castle, and has produced many warriors, statesmen, and 
illustrious men. The Knollys family lived at Grey's 
Court and Caversham. Sir Francis was treasurer to the 
court of Queen Elizabeth. His son. Sir William, enter- 
tained Queen Elizabeth and James I at Caversham, and 
played a distinguished part in the public affairs of the 
period. The Harcourts of Nuneham and Stanton Har- 
court, which they held for over seven centuries, have 
produced many statesmen and soldiers. Sir Simon 
Harcourt was Lord Keeper of the Great Seal in 1702, 
was ennobled by Queen Anne and appointed Lord 
Chancellor. Stanton was obtained by the marriage of 
Robert de Harcourt with Millicent de Camville, kins- 
woman of the Queen of Henry L Edmund Vernon 
Harcourt, Archbishop of York, was the inheritor of the 
estate of Nuneham Courtenay in 1830. John Hampden, 
the patriot, wooed and won Squire Symeon's daughter of 
Pyrton Manor. The Cottrells and Dormers have played 
a distinguished part in the nation's history. The founder 
of the Dormer family was Geoffrey, a successful merchant 
of the Staple at Calais who lived at Thame, where in the 
church is his monument. He had a large family of twenty- 
five children. Westminster Abbey contains a memorial 
of Clement Cottrell, who fought gallantly in the fight 
with De Ruyter off Southwold Bay. His father was 
page to George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, steward 
of Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, and after the triumph 
of Cromwell took charge of the younger son of the 
King. 

Lord North, second Earl of Guildford (i 732-1 792), 

12 — 2 



180 OXFORDSHIRE 

Prime Minister of George III, lived at Wroxton Abbey. 
He held office during the American War, and was always 
treated by his sovereign as a personal friend. A brass 
memorial at Whitchurch records the memory of a bold 
man, Sir Thomas Walysch, who was valet-trayer or food- 
taster to the Lancastrian monarchs, Henry IV, V, and VI. 
In the days of conspiracies and poisons his office required 
some courage. 

Regicides should not appear on a roll of honour, but 
Sir James Harrington of Merton who took a prominent 
part in the Civil War and was one of the king's judges, 
must be mentioned as a notability. He resided for a long 
period at the manor house of Merton, and his grandson, 
Sir James Harrington of Merton and Caversfield, was a 
vehement Jacobite, is said to have entertained Charles 
Stuart after Culloden, and after 1745 lived in France at 
the court of the Pretender. Another regicide, Adrian 
Scrope, owned Wormsley, and at the Restoration was 
executed. Sir John Borlase, who owned Stratton Audley, 
an Irish Judge, helped to suppress the Irish rebellion of 
1 641. His grandson. Admiral John Borlase Warren, 
fought with distinction in the American and French 
naval war in the eighteenth century, and lies at Stratton. 

Warren Hastings was born at Churchill in 1732 and 
was brought up as a charity boy at the parish school. 

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, one of Queen Eliza- 
beth's earliest favourites, and the only one who succeeded 
in retaining her favour to the close of his career, died at 
Cornbury House, and was supposed to have been poisoned 
by his second wife, Lettice Knollys. If the story be true 



ROLL OF H0:N^0UR 181 

that he caused the death of his first wife Amy Robsart, at 
Cumnor, as recorded in Sir Walter Scott's Kenhworth^ he 
deserved his fate. At Cornbury h'ved Edward Hyde, first 
Earl of Clarendon (1609-74), Lord Chancellor of Eng- 
land, and the historian of the great Civil War, and his 




Warren Hastings 

son, Lord Cornbury, took his title from that place. He 
was a member of the Long Parliament, and took an 
active part in trying to reform abuses, but adhered to the 
royal cause when the Civil War broke out. His daughter 



182 OXFORDSHIRE 

Anne married the Duke of York, afterwards James II, 
and thus he became the grandfather of two Queens of 
England, Mary and Anne. This marriage created for 
him many enemies, and he died in exile at Rouen. 
At Godstow lived Sir John Walter, a famous lawyer, 
who was Attorney-General to Prince Charles in 1613, 
and Chief Baron of the Exchequer. In the matter of 
the dispute between the King and the Commons he lost 
the favour of his sovereign by his uprightness and died 
in 1 63 1. His monument is in the church at Wolver- 
cote. Sir George Coke, of Studley, was a noted judge in 
the Court or King's Bench in Charles I's reign, and was 
bold enough to pronounce against the legality of the King's 
attempt to extort ship-money. He bought Waterstock, 
and died there in 1641. 

At Burford Priory at the close of his life lived William 
Lenthall, Speaker of the House of Commons, who presided 
over the Long Parliament. He was a native of the county, 
having been born at Henley-on-Thames in 1591, was 
educated at Oxford at St Alban's Hall, and represented 
an Oxfordshire constituency, Woodstock. He bought 
Burford Priory just before the Civil War, and his family 
held it nearly 200 years. As Speaker he lived in dan- 
gerous times and occupied the chair when Charles I 
entered the House, and demanded the surrender of the 
five members. He welcomed the Restoration of the 
monarchy, but retired to his beautiful home at Burford 
and died two years later. In the same house lived 
Sir Lawrence Tanfield, Chief Baron of the Exchequer 
in the reign of James I. 



ROLL OF HONOUR 183 

Shirburn Castle was bought by the celebrated Thomas 
Parker, Lord Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor in 1718, 
who was created Earl of Macclesfield, and afterwards 
impeached by the Commons ; it has since been held by 
other distinguished members of this family. 




William Lenthall 

Thame has produced a just judge whose praise Steele 
chants in the Tatler^ Lord Chief Justice Holt, born in 
that town in 1642. 

Amongst other successful lawyers whom Oxfordshire 
has produced was Roundell Palmer, first Earl of Selborne 



184 OXFORDSHIRE 

(1812-95), who was the second son of the rector of 
Mixbury, where he was born. After a brilliant career 
at Oxford he became Solicitor-General in Lord Palmer- 
ston's ministry in 1861 and Lord Chancellor of England. 
He published The Book of Praise^ and loved hymns and 
verses quite as much as law books. Another great lawyer, 
Sir John Bankes (1589-1644), though not a native of the 
shire, lived at Oxford during the Civil War period when 
Charles I held his court there, and died there and rests in 
the cathedral. He was Attorney-General in 1634 and 
earned the reputation of having exceeded "Bacon in 
eloquence, Chancellor EUesmere in judgment, and William 
Noy in law." Oxfordshire has been famous for its suc- 
cessful lawyers. 

Besides the warriors we have already mentioned we 
may record the name of Earl Cadogan, one of Marl- 
borough's most trusted generals. " Cadogan's Horse " 
became famous on many battlefields, and he won renown 
at Blenheim, Ramilies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet. He 
crushed the Stuart rising in 171 5, and on the death of 
the Duke he became commander-in-chief of the armies 
of England. He resided for some years at Caversham 
Park. The famous John Churchill, first Duke of Marl- 
borough, himself, of course, resided at Blenheim, the gift 
of a grateful nation, where he was buried, and there lived 
also his no less famous Duchess, Sarah Jennings, the 
favourite friend and Keeper of the Privy Purse of Queen 
Anne. Her violent temper used to try the Duke, and 
even her royal mistress found her unbearable at times, 
and she lost her favour through the intrigues of Lady 



ROLL OF HONOUR 



185 



Masham. The last soldier we will mention is Sir John 
Cope, the ill-fated commander at Prestonpans in Scot- 
land, a battle fought in 1745 against Charles Edward the 
" Young Pretender," who defeated the royal troops and 
invaded England. Sir John, or as he was usually called, 




Wadham College 
( Where the Royal Society had its origin) . 'J 

Johnnie Cope, lived at Bruern Abbey, which was after- 
wards destroyed by fire. 

Roger Bacon, early scientist and philosopher (121 4- 
92), lived and worked, and probably died at Oxford. 
Friar Bacon's study was the name of an old gatehouse 
near Folly Bridge, pulled down in 1770. 



186 OXFORDSHIRE 

The presence of the court of Charles I at Oxford 
brought together many men of eminence in various pro- 
fessions. We like to think of the celebrated Dr Harvey 
(i 578-1657) during the turmoil of war quietly conducting 
his experiments on the circulation of the blood, at Merton 
College, of which he was appointed Warden by Charles I. 
He set a hen in a corner of his room and every day broke 
an egg to see how it had developed. During this time of 
anxiety and continual fighting the Royal Society practi- 
cally commenced its career at Wadham College. Dr 
Harvey enjoyed the confidence of the King, and during 
the battle of Edgehill was entrusted with the care of the 
royal children, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of 
York. 

Oxfordshire has had the honour of producing several 
artists of distinction. Sir William Beechey, R.A. (1753- 
1839), who painted portraits of most of the royal persons 
of his day and also of the most fashionable, literary, and 
theatrical characters of the period, was born at Burford. 
Sir William Roxall, R.A. (1800-79), another celebrated 
portrait painter, and director of the National Gallery, 
was the son of an Oxfordshire exciseman. Waller came 
of an old Burford family and introduced the old priory 
into his painting of "The Empty Saddle" and into some 
other pictures. The wife of Sir Godfrey Kneller was the 
daughter of Mr Cawley, rector of Henley, where she lies 
buried with her parents. Valentine Green (1739-18 13), 
associate-engraver of the Royal Academy, antiquary and 
author, was born near Chipping Norton, being the son 
of a dancing-master. He achieved fame as a mezzotint- 



ROLL OF HONOUR 187 

engraver, reproducing by his art some of the best portraits 
of Sir Joshua Reynolds. Another mezzotint-engraver was 
Charles Turner (1773-185 7), who was born at Wood- 
stock. He was one of the most skilful engravers of his 
time, and was associated with the world-renowned land- 




Sir John Soane 

scape painter, Joseph Mallord William Turner, R.A., in 
the earlier stages of the Liber Studiorum. The distin- 
guished architect, Sir John Soane, R.A. (i 753-1 837), was 
an Oxfordshire man, having been born at Whitchurch, 
the son of a mason named Swan. He preferred to call 



188 OXFORDSHIRE 

himself Soane, became a pupil of George Dance, the 
architect, and by his industry and skill raised himself to 
the head of his profession. His famous Museum, which 
he founded in Lincoln's Inn Fields, he endowed and 
bequeathed to the nation. 

Dr White Kennet, afterwards Bishop of Peter- 
borough, the author of the Parochial Antiquities of 
Amhrosden and Burcester^ a celebrated Oxfordshire book, 
was vicar of Ambrosden in the seventeenth century. 
Dr Plot, whose words we have more than once quoted, 
author of the Natural History of Oxfordshire in 1677, 
though not a native, lived long at Oxford as Keeper of 
the Ashmolean Museum. Other local historians were 
the Rev. J. C. Blomfield, rector of Launton, author of 
the history of Bicester Deanery, and the Rev. Edward 
Marshall, author of the Diocesan History of Oxford. 

These are some of the names of the most illustrious 
sons of Oxfordshire, a roll of honour of which any county 
might be proud. 



23. THE CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 
OF OXFORDSHIRE. 

(Tlie figures in brackets after each name give the population 
in 1 90 1, but where the figures of the 191 1 census are 
available they are given, preceded by an asterisk. The 
figures at the end of each section refer to the pages in the 
text.) 

Adderbury (2025), three and a half miles south of Banbury, 
is a picturesque town with a fine church remarkable for its spire. 
There is an old rhyme: — 

" Bloxham for length, 
Adderbury for strength. 
And King's Sutton for beauty." 

The principal feature of the church is its beautiful Decorated 
work and the Perpendicular chancel, erected by the famous 
inventor of this style, and foremost architect of his age, William 
of Wykeham. The witty John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester 
(1647-80), and the second Duke of Argyle lived here in an old 
house on the town green, where Pope stayed, (pp. 40, 68, 116, 
118, 175.) 

Alchester, the remains of a Roman town two miles south 
of Bicester, (pp. 102, 162.) 

Asthall (355) is a beautiful village three miles south-east of 
Burford, near the Roman Akeman Street, with an interesting 
church and an Elizabethan manor house. The church retains 



190 



OXFORDSHIRE 



some Norman features, and is late Norman in construction with 
additions and decorations made in later periods, (pp. 109, 142, 
162.) 

Bampton (2029), an old-world market town with a noble 
church. At one time a castle stood here, built by Aymer de 
Valence, Earl of Pembroke, in 13 15. A skirmish in the Civil 
War took place here. Many old customs have lingered on in this 




Globe Room, Reindeer Inn, Banbury 

obscure place. The church is particularly fine, notable ror its 
massive Norman work and Early English additions. The spire 
belongs to the latter period, and resembles that of the cathedral. 
The Early English sedilia. Decorated reredos. Perpendicular 
Easter sepulchre and misereres are interesting features, (pp. 88, 
108, 116, 128, 130, 131, 177.) 



CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 191 

Banbury (* 13,463) is a large and prosperous town, celebrated 
for its cakes, its cross, and its Puritan zeal. Agricultural imple- 
ments are made here. It has a large market. A castle once 
stood here, which played an important part in the Civil War and 
was destroyed at its close. A very noble church formerly existed, 
but it was ruthlessly destroyed at the beginning of the nineteenth 
century, and a hideous structure erected in its place. There are 
several picturesque half-timbered buildings, and some noted inns, 
includinii the " Old Reindeer " which contains a remarkable room 




Benson Weir 

called the Globe Room. (pp. 15, 23, 33, 40, 67, 68, 77, 80, 84, 
85» 9o> 93, 128, 129, 160, 161, 165, 170-2.) 

Beckley (573) is an ancient and picturesque village five 
miles north-east of Oxford, once held by King Alfred. Roman 
remains have been discovered here. It was an important place 
in ancient times and the manor has been held by Robert D'Oilly, 
Richard King of the Romans, Piers Gaveston, Hugh le Despenser, 
and Lord Williams, one of the church spoilers at the Reformation. 
The church has some interesting features, including some old 



192 OXFORDSHIRE 

glass, a holy-water stoup and an hour-glass stand. The choir is 
Decorated c. 1330. (pp. 10, 90, 102, 173.) 

Bensington or Benson (960), on the Thames a mile 
north of Wallingford, was a busy town in the coaching age with 
large inns and much traffic. It is now only a village. A British 
town stood here which was taken by the Saxons in 571, and 
OfFa King of Mercia defeated the West Saxons here in 777 a.d. 
The old late Norman church has been much modernised and 
restored without much respect to its old features, (pp. 86, 164.) 

Bicester (*3 3 85) is a small market town with a notable 
church. It had at one time a priory, founded by Gilbert Bassett 
in 1 1 83, of which there are some scanty remains. Its name was 
formerly Berenceastre, and is probably connected with St Birinus, 
the apostle of Wessex. The church has a Saxon doorway, the 
remains of an earlier structure, and much Norman work, though 
the aisles were added in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, 
(pp. 10, 16, 34, 42, 53, 67, 85, 108, 122, 162, 165.) 

Bletchingdon (549), six miles north of Oxford, is a small 
village which owes its interest to the Park, the seat of Lord 
Valentia. The modern house replaces one that was held for the 
King in the Civil War and captured by Cromwell. 

Bloxham (1509), three and a half miles south-south-west of 
Banbury, is a pleasant village that calls itself a town, and is 
noted for its school and its magnificent church. The rhyme 
relating to "Bloxham for length" has already been quoted under 
Adderbury. This church is one of the most beautiful in the 
county. There is some Norman work, and also Early English, 
but its chief feature is the splendid Decorated work of the north 
side of the church, and of the spire and tower. The manor was 
acquired by the Fiennes family in the reign of Henry VIII and 
is still owned by Lord Saye and Sele. (p. in.) 

Broughton (525), two and a half miles south-west of 
Banbury, is a small village with a Decorated church, and is 



CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 193 

rendered famous by the magnificent castle, the seat of Lord Saye 
and Sele. It was first built by the De Broughtons at the 
beginning- of the fourteenth century. William of Wykeham 
bought the manor and presented it to his great-nephew Sir 
Thomas Wykeham, whose heiress brought it by marriage to 
William, Lord Saye and Sele. Thomas Wykeham in 1467 
erected part of the gatehouse and other portions, and the Fiennes 
family added the Elizabethan buildings. There is a chapel in 
the house of the Decorated period. In the council chamber 
William, Lord Saye and Sele, and his friends are said to have 
devised plans for the resistance to the King which led to the 
Civil War. A long room in the attics, wherein the soldiers of 
Lord Saye and Sele slept before the battle of Edgehill, is called 
the Barracks, (pp. 93, 116, 118, 134-6, 141, 142, 178.) 

Burford (1323) is one of the most interesting towns in the 
county. It had once a mayor and corporation, but has now lost 
its municipal rights. It was formerly famous for its cloth, wool, 
stone, malt, and saddles. It stood on the borders of Wessex and 
Mercia and was the scene of many fights. Near it was the Forest 
of Wychwood, the hunting ground of Norman kings, and it was 
the first town in England to receive the privilege of a Merchant 
Guild. Earl Warwick, the King-maker, owned the town, built 
the porch of the church, and founded the almsliouses, though they 
were really given by Henry Bishop, a native of the town. A 
priory stood here which at the dissolution of the monasteries was 
given to Edmund Harman, King Henry's barber-surgeon. After- 
wards it passed to Sir Lawrence Tanfield, then to Lucius Gary, 
Lord Falkland, and then to William Lenthall, Speaker of 
the Long Parliament. Burford was visited by Queen Elizabeth, 
James I, Gharles I, Charles II, and William III. The church is 
a magnificent structure, and near it are the almshouses and 
Grammar School. Of this church. Street, the architect, says 
that there is not one in the whole diocese of Oxford which exceeds 
D. O. 13 



194 



OXFORDSHIRE 



it in beauty and architectural interest. It was originally cruciform, 
with a central tower; but so many aisles and chapels have been 
added that its plan is irregular. Little Norman work is visible, 
and the architecture is mainly of the Early English and Perpen- 
dicular style. It is replete with details of architecture, tombs, 
monuments, and many objects of unusual interest. The old inns, 
the " Bear " and the " George," the ancient Tolsey or town-hall, 
and many old gabled houses, are all worthy of notice. The town 




Hampden's Obelisk, Chalgrove 

was the scene of the rebellion of the Levellers against Cromwell. 
It was suppressed here, some of the men being shot in the 
churchyard, (pp. 8, 17, 22, 29, 39, 40, 42, 54, 68, 70, 77, 80, 
86, 93, 109, 121, 125, 144, 164, 170, 175, 177, 178, 182, 186.) 

Caversham (*9858) is now a suburb of Reading, and has 
largely increased its population. A fine medieval bridge, upon 
which was a chapel, crossed the Thames, but it has been replaced 



CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 195 

by a hideous iron one. A fight took place on the bridge in the 
Civil War. A priory stood here, a cell of Notley Abbey, the 
buildings of which form part of the rectory, and St Anne's 
Well was much frequented. The Knollys family lived at Caver- 
sham Park, where Queen Elizabeth and James I visited, and 
Charles I was retained a prisoner. The old house was destroyed 
by fire and a new one erected, (pp. 12, 48, 67, 80, 84, 85, 96, 
178, 179, 184.) 

Chalgrove (379), three miles west-north-west of Watlington, 
is a small village near which the battle of Chalgrove was fought 
in 1643, wherein John Hampden was mortally wounded. An 
obelisk marks the spot. (pp. 34, 93, 116.) 

Charlbury (27 u) is a quiet little town on the banks of the 
Evenlode which has had several lords of the manor, the Bishops 
of Lincoln, Eynsham Abbey, Sir Thomas White, and St John's 
College, Oxford. Near it is Lee Place, a Jacobean mansion formerly 
owned by the Lees of Ditchley, and Cornbury House, adjacent to 
Wychwood Park. The church is Norman and Early English, 
(pp. 68, 94, 115, 166.) 

Chinnor (1002) is a village situated in the midst of the 
beautiful scenery of the Chilterns three and a half miles west 
of Princes Risborough, near the Buckinghamshire border and 
within sight of the turf-cut monuments of Whiteleaf and Bledlow 
Crosses. It has several old houses and a late Decorated church, 
which has some remarkable brasses of the fourteenth and fifteenth 
centuries, (pp. 80, 116, 162.) 

Chipping Norton (*3972) is an old market-town, as its 
name implies. Chipping being derived from the Saxon word " to 
buy." A castle was erected here in Stephen's reign. King John 
granted a market to the town and it returned members to Parlia- 
ment in the time of Edward L James I granted a charter to 
the town. It has a noble church, principally of Decorated and 
Perpendicular work, one of the finest in the county. The 

13 — 2 



196 OXFORDSHIRE 

town-hall is modern, but the old guild-hall still exists. There are 
almshouses erected in 1640. The principal trades of the town 
are tweed-making and brewing-, (pp. g, 31, 33, 40, 67, 77, 118, 
128, 130, 163, 164, 166, 170, 186.) 

CoggS (790) is an interesting village near Witney, remark- 
able for its group of old buildings, church, vicarage, barn and 
manor house, (pp. 121, 128, 138.) 

Cowley (9258) owes its large population to its nearness to 
Oxford, of which part of the parish is a suburb. The villages of 
Temple Cowley and Church Cowley are two and a half miles 
from the city. The church is curious, as the tower is not as high 
as the roof of the nave, but it has some good Norman and Early 
English work. The beautiful chapel of the Hospital of St 
Bartholomew, the property of Oriel College, once a leper's 
hospital, is in Cowley, (p. 108.) 

Cropredy (436) is a small village three and a half miles 
north of Banbury where a battle was fought in the Civil War. 
It has a good church, principally of the Decorated period, which 
contains some armour of soldiers slain in the battle, (pp. 93, 
116.) 

Cuddesdon (1332) contains the palace of the Bishop of 
Oxford, originally built in 1635, burnt in the Civil War, and 
rebuilt in 1679. The manor belonged to the Abbey of Abingdon. 
The church is cruciform, of Norman date, with thirteenth century 
aisles and Perpendicular chancel, (pp. 44, 112, 172, 177.) 

Deddington (1490) is a small market-town and once 
possessed a castle. Here Piers Gaveston was captured by the 
Earl of Warwick. Castle Farm, formerly a sixteenth century 
rectorial house, is an interesting building where Charles I slept 
after the battle of Cropredy. Sir Thomas Pope, the founder of 
Trinity College, Oxford, and Chief Justice Scroggs, the hanging 
judge, were born here. The church is large and principally of 



CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 197 

the Decorated period. Charles I made cannon out of its bells, 
(pp. 40, 128, 130, 131, 132.) 

Dorchester (944) is a small village nine miles south-south- 
east of Oxford, once the seat of a far-extending diocese reaching 
from the Thames to the Humber. Cynegils granted it to St Birinus, 
the apostle of Wessex. Six bishops ruled here from 634 to 706. 





Dorchester 



In 869 it was a Mercian see and five bishops ruled in succession 
until Lindsey and Leicester were joined with it, when 10 bishops 
held the see until the Norman bishop Remigius transferred the 
seat of the bishopric to Lincoln. A priory existed here, founded 
in 1 140, of which the present church was the minster. It is an 
extremely interesting building principally of the Decorated style. 



198 



OXFORDSHIRE 



It has a leaden Norman font witli carved figures, and a Jesse 
window, showing the descent of Our Lord from the stem of 
Jesse, (pp. 65, 87, 102, 112, 115, 162, 164.) 

Enstone (925), which takes its name from the dohnen called 
the Hoar Stone, lies four miles east-south-east of Chipping Norton. 
It belonged to the Abbey of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire. The 
fine tithe barn was built by Walter de Wyniforton, abbot in 1382. 




Ewelme 



The church has a curious dedication, to Kenelm, son of Kenulph, 
King ot Mercia. The village was a great coaching centre with 
six inns. (pp. 99, 112.) 

Ewelme (494) isi a very picturesque village between 
Watlington and Wallingford with a grand group of old 
buildings, consisting of church, almshouses, and school, erected 
by William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, in 1436. His tragic 



CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 



199 



story has been told already. The church is entirely Perpendicular 
and has some interesting monuments. The hospital or almshouse 
and the school are built of brick, and are very beautiful. The 
Manor Place was of timber and brick, but has been pulled down. 
A brook runs through the village and supplies many water-cress 
beds. This water-cress is famous and is sent to London and 
Lancashire, (pp. ii8, 122, 175, 178.) 




Goring 



Fritwell (454), five miles north-west of Bicester, has a church 
dedicated to St Olaf, and therefore was doubtless connected with 
the Danes. There is an old manor house here which has been 
connected with some unhappy tragedies, (pp. iii, 142.) 

GodstOW, three and a half miles north-west of Oxford, has 
the ruins of the nunnery where dwelt Fair Rosamond. Converted 
into a dwelling-house at the Dissolution, it was fortified for the 
King in the Civil War, besieged and burnt in 1646. An old 



200 OXFORDSHIRE 

bridge spans the river and the " Trout Inn" is famous, (pp. 53, 
88, 122, 182.) 

Goring (141 9) is noted for the beauty of its river scenery, 
"which has attracted many new residents and caused the erection 
of many modern houses. There was a nunnery here, founded in 
the reign of Henry II. The church is dedicated to St Thomas a 
Becket, and was used by the nuns as a chapel, (pp. 27, 80, 85, 
162, 166.) 

Han well (176) lies two and a half miles north-west of 
Banbury, and has a farm which is all that remains of the 
Castle of Hanwell, the house of the Copes, erected by Anthony 
Cope, cofferer to Henry VII. The church was built in the 
thirteenth century and has some Decorated work. 

Haseley, Great (551), five miles south-west of Thame, has 
been held by many distinguished families, including Milo Crispin, 
the Bassetts, Roger Bigod, Thomas de Brotherton, the Bohuns, 
the Lenthalls. John Leland was rector here, and also Christopher 
Wren, the father of the architect. The thirteenth century church 
has some good brasses, (pp. 115, 116.) 

Headington (3696) with its hill is well known to Oxford 
men as a favourite walk. The road is celebrated as that traversed 
by the royalist garrison of Oxford when they marched out of the 
city and delivered it to Cromwell's troops. A legend tells of a 
student being attacked here by a wild boar and saving his life by 
cramming his book of Aristotle down the animal's throat, saying 
Graecum est. This is said to have been the origin of the custom 
of bringing in the Boar's Head on Christmas Day at Queen's 
College. At Headington there stood the royal hunting lodge of 
Saxon kings. The church is mainly Norman with Perpendicular 
tower, and a fine sixteenth century cross stands in the churchyard. 
The Headington quarries have supplied much stone for the building 
of the Oxford colleges, (pp. 8, 22, 43, 84, 85, 88, 165.) 



CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 201 

Henley {* 64.56) is a fair town on the Thames, noted for its 
Regatta and for the beauty of its surrounding neighbourhood. 
Richard Earl of Cornwall, King of the Romans, had a palace 
here in the reign of Henry III. The manor passed to Edward I 
who granted it to Piers Gaveston, and after his execution it 
passed to Sir John de Moleyns, in whose family it remained for 




Church, and Red Lion Inn, Henley 



some time, and then by marriage passed to the Hungerfords, and 
then to Lord Hastings in the reign of Henry VII. It has since 
been held by several notable men. The town suffered much 
during the Civil War, and Sir Bulstrode Whitelock, who lived at 
Fawley Court, complained bitterly of the damage done by the 
soldiers. Charters were granted to the town by Henry VIII, 



202 



OXFORDSHIRE 



Elizabeth, and George I, and it is governed by a mayor and 
corporation. The town-hall was built in 1795 on the north of 
the market-place. A fine bridge spans the river, erected in 
1786 in place of a very early structure, on which was the chapel 
of St Anne. The church is mainly Decorated and Perpendicular 
with a fine tower. The town has several old inns, as it was a 
great centre in the coaching days. The Red Lion " Inn was in 




Iffiey Church 



existence in the time of Charles I, who stayed there with Prince 
Rupert. It has had many other royal and illustrious guests. 
The " Catherine Wheel," " White Hart," " Bull," " Bear " and 
" Broad Gates " are other ancient hostelries. The present trades 
of the town are malting, brewing, and the making of boats and 
paper-bags. There is also an iron foundry, (pp. 8, 16, 23, 27, 
28, 47, 72, 77, 80, loi, 132, 136, 163, 164, 167, 170, 173, 182, 
186.) 



CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 203 

Hook Norton (1386), four and a half miles north-east of 
Chipping- Norton, is a growing village owing to the ironstone 
industry. The Danes were massacred here by Edward the Elder. 
(PP- 18, 35, 40, 68, 88, 112, 160, 166.) 

Iffley (2358), a beautiful village on the Thames near Oxford, 
famous for its scenery and its fine Norman church, (pp. 26, 109.) 

Islip (549), at the junction of the Ray and Cherwell five miles 
north of Oxford, had a royal Saxon palace in which Edward the 
Confessor was born, who gave the manor to Westminster. There 
was much fighting here in the Civil War. (pp. 88, 177, 178.) 

Kelmscott, a small village on the Thames where the 
river enters the county, the residence of William Morris and 
Rossetti. The name is a shortened form of Kenelm's Cot, the 
abode of St Kenelm, from whom Kempsford in Gloucestershire 
also derives its name. Minster Lovell church is dedicated to the 
same saint, who was the son of Ofl^a, King of Mercia, and when 
a child was murdered by his tutor at the instigation of his sister, 
(pp. 12, 16, 1 12, 176.) 

Kidlington (1380) is a large village, four miles north of 
Oxford, remarkable for its noble church with a lofty spire. The 
tower was erected in the thirteenth century and crowned with a 
spire in the fifteenth. The main style of the building is Early 
English, but additiojis and alterations were made later in the 
Decorated and Perpendicular period. It will be noticed that the 
chancel leans to one side. This is traditionally said to represent 
the leaning of the head of the Saviour on the Cross, (pp. 33, 34, 
72, 114, 116.) 

Kirtlington (594), seven miles north of Oxford, was a 
village of importance in early times on account of its position 
at the junction of Akeman Street and the Portway. ^n important 
synod was held here in 977. (pp. 8 8, 161, 162.) 



204 OXFORDSHIRE 

Langley? five miles north-west of Witney, had a royal palace 
or hunting lodge, said to have been built by King John, and visited 
by many kings and queens until the reign of the Stuarts. 

Mapledurham (519), a picturesque village on the Thames 
with a famous manor house, the home of the Blounts, which was 
besieged during the Civil War. The church has a Norman 
font and is mainly Perpendicular. The chapel of the Blounts is 
walled off from the rest of the church, (pp. 27, 136, 142, 175.) 

Minster Lovell (459), two and a half miles north-west of 
Witney, has the ruins of the manor house of the Lovells. 
Reference has been made to the sad fate of the last of the 
family. There was a priory here; hence its name Minster, 
which is always connected with a monastic house. Near the 
village are the Charterville Allotments, founded by Fergus 
O'Connor, the Chartist leader in 1847. The scheme failed, but 
is now successful, and some labourers support themselves by 
growing strawberries and potatoes, (pp. 19, 30, 90, 118, 121, 
140.) 

Northleigh (717), three miles north-east of Witney, has 
near it the remains of an extensive Roman villa, (p. 102.) 

Otmoor is a desolate region on the eastern border of the 
shire, formerly consisting of bog and moorland, which fed great 
flocks of geese. It was drained and enclosed in 1830, when wild 
rioting ensued, the Yeomanry were called out and violent scenes 
took place, and for four years disturbances were frequent, (pp. 21, 
34, 162.) 

Oxford (*53,049, this does not include members of the 
University, the last census being taken in Vacation time). Oxford, 
the county town, lies between the river Cherwell and the Thames 
or Isis, and a small part of it is in Berkshire. It is 63 miles 
from London by rail, and lies centrally in the county at its most 
constricted part. The city is renowned for its charm; its High 



CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 205 

Street is held to be one of the most striking thoroughfares of 
Europe; and everywhere are seen churches, colleges, quadrangles 
and palatial buildings which are remarkable for their architectural 
beauty. In early times its geographical position at the head of a 
great river rendered it important, though it lay far from any of 




i '^ ./ 

High Street, Oxford 

the Roman roads, and in Roman times cannot have been in 
existence. The foundation of the nunnery of St Frideswide about 
730 was the earliest event of importance in its history. It grew 
into prominence two centuries later when there was peace between 
Wessex and Mercia, its prosperity being increased by its ford 
across the Thames and the traffic along the road leading from 




Pulpit in the Quadrangle, Magdalen College 



CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 207 

Berkshire to Oxfordshire. Edward the Elder and his heroic 
sister Ethelfleda probably raised the great mound on which the 
Norman castle was afterwards constructed and fortified it against 
the Danes. There was a large colony of Danes here, and when in 
1 002 King Ethelred ordered a massacre of the Danes on St Brice's 
Day, many took refuge in St Frideswide's convent, which was 
set on fire, and great numbers perished. In 1013 they revenged 
themselves and Sweyn, their king, captured Oxford. Many 
important gemots, or councils, were held here, and here most of 
the Saxon kings sojourned, and some died. When the Normans 
came, William the Conqueror attacked the town in 1067, and 
Robert D'Oilly, to keep the country in awe, built the strong stone 
fortress that still stands near the railway station. This castle 
became the scene of many historical events; State councils were 
held there, and during the wars of Stephen's reign it was besieged, 
and the Empress Maud escaped from it by night dressed in white 
when snow was on the ground. The royal palace of Beaumont, 
which stood where Beaumont Street now is also added importance 
to the city, where Kings Richard and John were born. The 
history of Oxford is closely interwoven with the history of 
England, especially from the time of Henry III. During his 
reign the walls of the city were built in stone, the Provisions oj 
Oxford were passed and the University was founded, though 
Schools and Halls for students had previously existed. A large 
migration of scholars from the University of Paris swelled the 
number of the students, who lived in halls and private houses in 
the town. They were often very turbulent, frequent riots took 
place and conflicts between the scholars and the townspeople, the 
most serious being that which occurred on St Scholastica's day in 
i354j when forty students and twenty-three townsmen were slain. 
Colleges were gradually built for the reception of scholars, Merton, 
transferred to Oxford in 1 274, being probably the earliest collegiate 
foundation. Learning thrived, and many distinguished foreigners 
were attracted to Oxford by its fame. An interesting feature of 




Interior : Christ Church Cathedral 



CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 209 

Magdalen College (founded in 1458) is the open pulpit in the 
corner of the small quadrangle. One of the earliest printing- 
presses in England was set up in the town; and its library was 
celebrated for its wealth of books and manuscripts. The Dis- 
solution of monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII interfered 
much with the progress of learning. Monastic houses throughout 
England were accustomed to send poor scholars to Oxford for their 
education. This stream of students was at once stopped. Osney 
Abbey, St Frideswide's Monastery, and several houses of the Friars 
were suppressed, and the valuable contents of the University Library 
were burned, on the ground that the books were of a " superstitious " 
nature. However, the King completed the great design of Cardinal 
Wolsey in the foundation of Christ Church, and constituted 
Oxford a Cathedral City. Soon followed the Marian persecution 
and the burning of the martyrs Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer. 
Oxford took a prominent part in the Civil War in the seventeenth 
century, when the city was the headquarters of Charles I. It 
had great affection for the Stuarts, and Jacobitism lingered long 
there. Oxford has progressed much in recent years, and has 
opened its gates wide to welcome all classes of scholars, providing 
an education which, while preserving the heritage of the past, is 
suitable to the needs of modern life. There are no manufactures 
of importance, nor is there much trade except such as is connected 
with the supplying of the University and other inhabitants, the 
place of late having shown increasing popularity as a residential 
neighbourhood. The University Press, however, employs a large 
number of men. There are 21 Colleges and one Hall with a roll 
of about 3000 undergraduates, and about 500 resident graduates, 
(pp. 2, 8, 10, 12, 14, 22, 23, 25, 26, 62, 63, 6s, 72, 73) 75, 76, 77, 
80, 84, 85, 88, 90, 92, 93, 102, 106, 108-14, 116-9, 122-9, n8, 
144, 145-59, 161, 164-7, 170, 172, 173, 175-8, 182, 184-6, 188.) 

RoUright is famous for its remarkable Stone Circle which 
has already been described, (pp. 98-101, 109, iii, 160, 161.) 
D. O. 14 



210 OXFORDSHIRE 

Rotherfield Greys (3337, including a portion of Henley 
town parish) derives its name from the family of Greys who 
owned the castle. The adjoining village of Rotherfield Peppard 
took its name from the ancient Pypard family. The castle and 
court have already been described (p. 132). The property is now 
owned by the Stapleton family. The church is mainly Early 
English work and has been much restored, (pp. 65, 132.) 

RyCOte, two miles west-south-west of Thame, once had a 
notable mansion owned by the Norris family. Princess Elizabeth 
was detained here under the guard of Lord Williams during the 
rule of her sister Mary. Charles I stayed at the house, which 
has now been destroyed, (pp. 72, 92, 120.) 

Shiplake (870) is a beautiful village on the Thames three 
miles south of Henley. The manor was held by the Blunden 
and Plowden families. James Granger whose name gave a new 
word to the English language — that of Grangerising" or extra- 
illustrating books — was vicar here, and Tennyson was married 
in the church. In the church there is some fine glass, brought 
from the Abbey of St Bertin at St Omer, when it was destroyed 
by the French revolutionists, (pp. 48, 80, 176.) 

Shipton-under-Wychwood (2686) is noted for its fine 
church, which has a notable tower and spire similar in style to 
those of Oxford Cathedral. It is mainly Early English with 
some sixteenth century additions. There are two ancient inns, 
the " Red House " and the " Crown." Shipton Court is an 
Elizabethan house, formerly the home of the Reades. A house 
called the Prebendary recalls the fact that the town was formerly 
attached to the Cathedral of Salisbury, (pp. 31, 112, 122, 174.) 

Somerton (265) is a village by the Cherwell seven miles 
north-west of Bicester and once had a castle, erected in Stephen's 
reign, (pp. 128, 177.) 



CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 211 

Standlake has a fine cruciform church and near it the 
remains of a British village, (pp. 31, loi.) 

Stanton Harcourt (491), four and a half miles south-east 
of Witney, is named after the family who held it for many 
centuries. Little of the old manor house remains, but there is 
the gatehouse and Pope's tower, and a very interesting church. 
It is an epitome ot Gothic architecture, showing Norman work 
in the nave. Early English in the chancel, a Decorated roof. 
Perpendicular windows, and a Tudor chapel. The stocks remain 
in the village. To the south are the prehistoric stones known as 
the Devil's Quoits, (pp. 65, 99, 108, 114, 140, 175, i79-) 

Stanton St John (452), four miles north-east of Oxford, 
takes its name from the family of St John. The church was 
mainly built at the beginning of the fourteenth century, though 
it has a Norman chancel arch and Perpendicular west tower, 
(pp. 65, 116, 175.) 

Stonor Park, some four miles from Henley, has always 
been owned by a family of that name. Sir Thomas Stonor 
commanded the left wing at Agincourt and was created Baron 
Camoys. The present house is Tudor, and near it is a fourteenth 
century chapel wherein Roman Catholic services have always 
been held. There are priests' hiding-places cunningly devised 
in the house, and there Edmund Campion the Jesuit lay safe and 
established a secret printing-press, (pp. 16, 93, i44-) 

Tew, Great (334), a singularly beautiful village five and 
a half miles north-east of Chipping Norton, full ot the memories 
of the old house where Lucius Cary, Lord Falkland, lived and 
his loving wife Lettice. The church is ancient, with a Norman 
door and early fourteenth century work, during which period the 
main part was built in the Decorated style, (pp. 136, 178.) 

Thame (*2957) is a market-town of great antiquity and 
belonged to the bishops of Lincoln. It is indebted to one of 




Witney Butter Cross 



CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 213 

their bishops, Robert Grosseteste, for its magnificent church and 
Prebendal chapeL The church retains much of Bishop Grosse- 
teste's work, erected about 1240, but many alterations have been 
made since. It contains many monuments of interesting persons. 
Lord Williams, who grew rich out of the spoils of the church, and 
acquired Thame Abbey, built a Grammar School here. John 
Hampden died here in 1643. (PP- 8, 16, 54, 67, 84, 114, i79> 
183.) 

Watlington (1554) is an ancient market-town and has a 
very interesting seventeenth century market-hall in the centre 
of the town. A castle existed here, built by the De la Beche 
family in 1338, but the moat only remains, (pp. 23, 46, 80, i44> 
162, 166.) 

Whitchurch (946) is a picturesque village on the bank of 
the Thames opposite Pangbourne, with which it is connected by a 
wooden bridge. There are several large houses in the village, 
and it is not disfigured by rows of ugly cottages which have 
sprung up on the Berkshire side. The church has been rebuilt, 
but retains some interesting brass memorials. Amongst them is 
one to the memory of Sir Thomas Walysch, food-taster to the 
Lancastrian sovereigns, Henry IV, V, and VI. (pp. 27, 163, 
180, 187.) 

Witney (*35^9) is a flourishing little market-town on the 
Windrush celebrated for its manufacture of blankets. A 
picturesque butter cross stands in the market-place. Its most 
interesting features are the church with its thirteenth century 
spire, the Grammar School founded in 1663, and the Hall of the 
Blanket Weavers' Company erected in 1721. The manor was 
owned formerly by the bishops of Winchester, who often resided 
here in a fortified palace erected in 1080 by Bishop Walkelin. 
Its name is probably derived from the Saxon word ey meaning an 
island, and JFitan, a council, signifying the place where the Witan 

14—3 



214 OXFORDSHIRE 

held its meetings, (pp. 8, 22, 30, 31, 66-8, 72, 77, 81-3, 112, 
114, 163, 164.) 

Wolvercote (966) is a village on the north of Oxford, near 
Godstow. It has a noted paper-mill which produces the paper 
used by the Oxford University Press, (pp. 55, 76, 85, 164, 182.) 

Woodstock (*i594), a market-town on the Glyme famous 
for its manufacture of gloves, derives its chief historical importance 
from the ancient royal palace that formerly stood here, and to which 
reference has frequently been made. This palace has played an 
important part in English history. The lovers of Sir Walter 
Scott and the readers of Woodstock will remember the pranks 
of the loyal servant who scared the Roundhead commissioners 
away. Much of the story of the novel, however, is not true to 
history. Some parts of the old building were standing when the 
palace of Blenheim was in building, but the Duchess Anne 
ruthlessly ordered them to be pulled down. Allusion has already 
been made to the magnificent but ponderous pile of Blenheim, 
(pp. 10, 65, 67, 78, 80, 84, 88, 90, 92, 109, 127, 136, 164, 170, 
173-5, 178, 182, 187.) 

Wootton (1027) is a small village two miles from Blenheim 
Palace, where the river Glyme is joined by its tributary the 
Dome. The rectory formerly belonged to Bruern Abbey and at 
the Dissolution of monasteries was transferred to New College, 
Oxford. 

Wroxton, a picturesque village three miles north-west of 
Banbury. The Abbey, formerly a priory of Augustinian monks, 
is a fine Jacobean house erected in 161 8 by Sir William Pope, 
nephew of Sir Thomas Pope, the founder of Trinity College, 
Oxford, who obtained the property after the dissolution of the 
monastic house, (pp. 122, 141, 180.) 



DIAGRAMS 



215 



England & Wales 



37>338,994 acres 



Oxfordshire 
480,687 acres 



Fig. I. The Area of Oxfordshire compared 
with that of England and Wales 



England & Wales 

Population 36,075,269 



Oxfordshire^ 

Population 199,2 77! 



Fig. 2. The Population of Oxfordshire compared 
with that of England and Wales (igii) 



tSoi 



1851 



1901 



1911 



111,977 



170,434 



186,460 



199,277 



Fig. 3. Diagram showing Increase of Population 
in Oxfordshire 



216 



OXFORDSHIRE 




Oxfordshire 266 England and Wales 618 Lancashire 2550 

Fig. 4. Diagram showing comparative Density of Population 
to the Square Mile (191 1) 

{Each dot represents ten persons) 




Fig. 5. Proportionate Areas of Cultivated and 
Uncultivated Land in Oxfordshire (1909) 



DIAGRAMS 



217 




Fig. 6. Proportionate Areas of Cereals, Pasture, Crops, 
Woodlands, etc. in Oxfordshire (1909) 




Fig. 7. Area of Corn Crops compared with that 
under other cultivation in Oxfordshire (1909) 



218 



OXFORDSHIRE 




Fig. 8. Proportionate Areas of Cereals grown 
in Oxfordshire (1909) 




Fig. 9. Proportionate numbers of Live-stock 
in Oxfordshire (1909) 



CambriUp: 

PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. 
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 



